At first it looks like porcelain; velvety smooth and greyish white.
But there are clues that the sculptures are not what they seem. Dotted around the restaurant in Lviv, Ukraine, the carvings of hands, heads and many other body parts stand in lit-up fridges. They're brought to your table along with a plate of bread and, usually, a glass of Horilka, a popular alcoholic Ukrainian drink.
And it's only then that you realize the artist's creations are made with salo pig fat.
You wipe it on your meat or bread and eat it, Chris Wayatt says.
Having moved from New Zealand to Whistler to work as a ski instructor, and more recently to Squamish, Wayatt has a job behind a film camera. It's an interesting profession, taking him around the world in search of the abnormal, Wayatt says. He's seen places such as war-torn Uganda for the documentary Uganda Rising, and most recently, visited a mining camp in the Yukon.
In the upcoming season of History Television's Yukon Gold, Wayatt dons the cap of camp director of photography. Airing on Wednesdays at 10 p.m., the documentary series focuses on prospectors hunting for gold nuggets.
The show is true to life, for sure, Wayatt says.
There's lots of people out digging in the hope of striking it rich, he says, noting the current price of gold. While filming, the sun set at 11 p.m. It gave Wayatt more time to film, but more importantly for prospectors, it gave them more time to work.
All of the colours throughout the year are magical, Wayatt says of the territory. It is a land of extremes.
The series centres on a number of gold hunters, some native to Dawson City and others having switched over from the oil fields, he says. The art of gold hunting is a combination of skill and luck, Wayatt says.
It is definitely a big boy's game, he notes, adding the equipment involved is large and expensive. This isn't the guy with his gold pan.
When not chasing the gold-hungry, the Paradise Valley resident is busy creating videos for local companies and events with his business, Magnitude 7 Films. Many Squamish residents work on television and movie productions, Wayatt says, including big-name productions such as the popular reality show Survivor.
I think we like to play and that kinds of ties in so well with the outdoor lifestyle [in Squamish], Wayatt says. It's the alternative recreational lifestyle that almost parallels the creativity of the film business.
To learn more about Wayatt and his work at www.chriswayatt.com.
Watch the trailer-
