Interview with an artist: Ellis Parrinder
News Published on:Food for thought: Ellis Parrinder's evocative, hyperreal imagery follows in the steps of Wayne Thiebaud and Andy Warhol, transforming his edible subjects into printed matter.
Fresh from his contribution to our ‘My Love Is Your Love' exhibition curated by EXHIBIT69, and a collaboration with Jealous artist Magda Archer, Ellis Parrinder, 'the Hype Williams of UK food photography' has released two new screenprints with Jealous Print Studio. We sat down with him to talk through what drives his work: the nostalgia, the playfulness, and the story behind his new pop-art screenprints, ‘Fuck Banana’.
What was it like to work with the Jealous Print Studio to bring your ‘Fuck Banana’ screenprints to life?
I’ve absolutely loved seeing my work being turned into screen prints. It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time and the ‘Fuck Banana' was the perfect image to do it with. My ‘BananaZine' where the image appears is inspired by Warhol so it’s a natural extension to create these prints. Ben has been so great to collaborate with and I enjoyed the process of changing my photography to screen prints and it's an honor and real career highlight to have my work at Jealous.
Bananas are slapstick, surreal and as you yourself describe them, ‘slightly absurd’. So, why the humble banana and how did your love for zines begin?
Last year I collaborated with artist Rory McQueen to create the 'Breakfast Zine’ which was brilliant fun and rewarding and I got hooked! So I was looking for another subject to base the next zine on and bananas came out on top and became my muse - mainly because they are silly, iconic and creatively you can have a lot of fun with them!
My interest in zines and zine culture began because I was looking for a way to get my personal work and creative ideas out into the world and the only way to do that at the moment was to self publish and commission myself. I have a large photo book collection and my obsession with the late iconic Martin Parr’s books sparked a new path for my own work.
The BananaZine also features a poster by Jealous artist Magda Archer: how did this collaboration come about?
Moving to Brighton a few years back has boosted the artistic side of my creative brain and it started with visiting local galleries and buying more affordable art from galleries and fairs in Brighton. I went to a Mr. Men exhibition in Brighton and fell in love with Rory McQueen’s work and I bought his Mr. Messy print and from that we started chatting on Instagram.I asked him if he wanted to collaborate and that's how the Breakfast Zine was born.
I loved the collaboration with Rory so much I thought I would start a trend and ask Magda to collaborate on this next zine. I am a huge fan of Magda’s work and it is often food themed, so she was the perfect partner for this project. And lo and behold she said yes, so I was over the moon! I love the Mr Banana the poster she created for the ‘BananaZine’, I have the original artwork at home which I will treasure forever.
As one of the UK’s leading food photographers, your work lives on screens, in magazines, across book covers and now print editions. What is it about food that makes it such a compelling subject to photograph?
Food as a subject matter is so rich and versatile as a photographer and artist, with so many creative angles to choose from and work with. A big part of why I love food photography is the nostalgia, providing endless inspiration, creative themes and fun. The 1950s to the 1980s are my favourite food years for inspiration, as you can see from my work.
Finally, what's feeding your creativity right now?
So many things feed my creativity but Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman and POP ART seem to be my current obsession. Martin Parr is always in my brain and zine and photo book culture is an endless creative source :)
Purchase Ellis Parrinder prints here, take a look at his delicious work including Banana Zine now and find Parrinder's screenprints making their art fair debut at the London Original Print Fair 2026 from 14th - 17th May at Somerset House. Book your complimentary tickets for the 41st Edition of this unmissable show for fans of printmaking, while stocks last.
