Food

Fans include Gucci, Ariana Grande, and college kids.

After a decade of stillness, Lemon Lorange is alive again.

Once upon a time, the Jell-O artist extraordinaire was the alter ego of my friend Katrina Kong.

jello art from the artist kristin worrall

Today in Kongs Brooklyn kitchen, however, Lemon pulses to life anew.

Im there to witness her rebirth as Kong stirs together gelatin, pomegranate juice, and fresh lime juice.

A clean vintage gelatin mold rests on the counter, removed from the wall where it hung as decoration.

Kong smiles while she stirs, remembering how Lemon Lorange was born.

Lemon Loranges adventures in gelatin were the opposite of Kongs life at the time, she says.

We all need a little bit of that, she says.

In December, theretro Jell-O hostesscame back online this time, on Instagram.

It would make sense, then, that a gelatin resurgence would emerge from the pandemic.

The creations are even easier to share in the social media age.

The hashtag #jello has 1.6 billion views on TikTok and 500,000 posts on Instagram.

It has produced jiggly art for everyone from Netflix to Rolls Royce.

Jellies are certainly ripe for visual documentation.

Theyre bodily and shuddery and sloppy and bouncy, but theyre also crystalline and perfect.

For a long time, Britain was an aspic capital of the world, followed by France.

Its still popular today in Eastern Europe, Denmark, and Nepal.

The Jell-O brand was created in LeRoy, New York in 1897.

It produced both sweet and savory instant gelatin mixes that by the 1930s were an American staple.

It was rebranded yet again in the 1990s, this time for children.

Today, a fascination with jellies reenters the cultural sphere as nostalgia, yes, but also camp.

As Mason says, Its no longer a threat, so we can fool around with it.

Theres a potential for artistry that divorces itself from pretension and instead enters a world of amazement.

This is also true when I visit theSolid Wigglesstudio in Brooklyn.

Jena Derman, a pastry chef, and Jack Schramm, a mixologist, created the company mid-pandemic.

In their studio is a sampling of flavors on a silver tray.

Theres also a ruby-striped Negroni Sbagliato, because of course.

In the refrigerator, theres a box of jelly eyeballs that taste like margaritas.

They taste how they look: elegant and crystalline and, frankly, glamorous.

Theyre a far cry from college Jell-O shots, but inspired by them nonetheless.

The art world is on board, too.

The exhibition, Take Comfort, ran earlier this month at the Standard Space gallery in Sharon Connecticut.

(you could still tour it online.)

People were, well, hungry for them.

For Worrall, jellies are a metaphor.

Gelatins cant be frozen, and theyre typically enjoyed by groups of people at parties.

Plus, theres room for error.

With Jell-O, theres room for error, room for joy, room to grow.

It becomes whatever shape you want it to be while still remaining mystifying to look at.

No matter how popular focaccia became during the pandemic, bread just doesnt do that.

The world is big again.

It has more color and movement and shape.

Its uncertain but in a more beautiful way this time.

You know, like jelly itself.

Main image: Kristin Worrall

This article was originally published onDec.