This Easter, r é n has teamed up with The Mira’s executive pastry chef Smita Grosse to create colourful cartons of chocolate eggs with the help of our supported youths, and on April 21, we’ll be launching them at our chef advocate Olivier Elzer’s restaurant Clarence. To complement this event, photographer and artist David Leung, also known as Davidgoodtime, has collaborated with us to reimagine r é n’s locally sourced eggs in his own distinctive style through the lens of pareidolia, a phenomenon that’s strengthened within him since he recovered from an unfortunate eye injury. Titled SWEETNEST, David’s photographic art pieces shifts focus from the highly polished egg-based dishes you’d usually expect photographers to capture to the haphazard beauty of discarded eggshells instead.

“I met Jo through a mutual friend of ours, and we decided to work on something together for Easter for r é n because I found the charity’s work very meaningful, from helping underprivileged youth to supporting locally sourced produce such as their eggs,” David explains. “I come from an F&B background myself, so r é n’s work particularly resonated with me. Jo and I had only met two months ago but the entire process was very smooth, and we managed to come up with ideas very quickly.

“Since the beginning, we knew it would revolve around Easter, so naturally Easter eggs were our focus,” David continues. “After some brainstorming, we ultimately decided on me creating artwork that would decorate the chocolate Easter eggs’ cartons and also be sold as framed prints for fundraising. But instead of focusing on beautifully presented egg dishes, I decided to capture the beauty of eggshells, because whenever we cook with eggs, the shells are often left over and dismissed as unimportant, an experience that many of the underprivileged and disadvantaged youths r é n supports would have gone through. The goal of my artwork is to show that even in things we often dispose without afterthought, there is beauty to be found.

“The name of the project is also very important,” David adds. “I called it SWEETNEST because of the parallels between a bird’s nest and r é n, both providing a nurturing space of protection for those under their care. The theme resonates strongly with r é n’s humanitarian work, which empowers marginalized communities in our city. Of course, it’s also a fund wordplay on the word ‘sweetness’ and chocolate eggs, which is fitting for Easter.”

After taking 300 to 400 photos, David finally selected three artworks that will soon be displayed in Clarence on April 21, and framed prints of them will be available for purchase. Alternatively, you can also purchase them through both David’s and r é n’s Instagram pages. Smita’s chocolate eggs for our Easter campaign will also be available for purchase at COCO Café Patisserie, at Clarence during our event, and at any of our upcoming pop-ups around town. All proceeds from these sales will directly benefit r é n’s charitable initiatives, continuing to support our efforts to provide opportunities to those in need.