If there is one thing millennials love, it’s avocados. The creamy green fruit is so wildly popular that consumption has doubled in the last decade as supply has shrunk, sending prices skyrocketing and putting demand at an all-time high.
Not helping matters is avocado art. That’s right, it would appear that rather than eating these high-priced foodstuffs, some artistic types are putting them at the service of their creative endeavors.
Expert carving designer Daniele Barresi is at the forefront of the trend, transforming an avocado’s soft flesh into an elegant seal surrounding the pit. Now 26, he’s been carving foods since he was just seven years old.
“When I touch my knife, my mind gives up to the heart and it transmits directly, to the hands, giving different forms to the decorations. It’s like magic,” wrote the artist on Bored Panda, sharing his creation and noting that the avocado took only one hour to carve. He’s also a master of watermelons and broccoli, among other unlikely organic art supplies, and claims to have been named vegetable- and fruit-carving world champion twice.
The avo art trend is on point with the Pantone color of the year, Greenery. The artists’ output can be just as delicious as it is beautiful, with the avocado becoming a canvas for seeds, herbs, and other tasty toppings. Dicing the avocado as finely as possible to make it appear “pixelated” is one popular move, while the pit provides another point of inspiration.
Uber-trendy avocado toast—the reason millennials can’t afford houses, says one Australian millionaire—is also getting in on the act. Already known for its artful array of different-colored sandwich toppings, the toast appears to be evolving into a canvas, the avocado cut into hearts or stars, or arranged in elegantly layered slices to sculptural effect, rather than roughly smashed.
Sure, guacamole is amazing enough on its own, but who doesn’t secretly enjoy playing with their food? See more avo art below.