Guelph, Ont. artist using meat to make political figure portraits

CTV’s Spencer Turcotte meets a Guelph, Ont. artist using charcuterie to craft unique caricatures.

We’ve all been told not to play with our food but a Guelph, Ont. artist is breaking that rule.

Most people go to the fridge and look for things to fill their bellies, but Barbara Salsberg Mathews looks for things to fill her canvas.

“I was doing hyper realistic acrylic paintings of architectural buildings and I found it was getting harder and harder. I didn’t know why my arm was getting weak and my hand started to shake and turned out I have Parkinson’s Disease,” said Salsberg Mathews.

At first, she was depressed and took a two-year break from painting. But what really got her back into art was the realization that she could use food, which was much easier to grip than a paintbrush.

Meat is her speciality. But it is also paired with various vegetables, pasta noodles and peppercorn.

“This is a good shape. This might work for shading,” she said, holding up a package of prosciutto. “It’s easier for me to manipulate food and the results are hilarious.”

Her carnivorous creations are modelled after political figures and tend to be ones that are known to make people a little salty.

“I call Donald Trump ‘Deli Don.’ And I also did Putin,” said Salsberg Mathews. “The thing I liked about making ‘Mad Vlad’ is I put them on t-shirts and notecards and raised money for the people of Ukraine. I thought this is the best use of that man’s face and turned it into helping these people whose country he invaded.”

More recently, she made another meat masterpiece of Elon Musk.

It only took her about an hour to make and with a bit of Photoshop, it quickly became a cut above other portraits of the billionaire businessman.

She has given the trio of Putin, Trump and Musk a special name.

“The Three Amigos. I’ve got ‘Muskolini,’ ‘Mad Vlad,’ and ‘Deli Don,’” said Salsberg Mathews.

She has also re-created Ontario Premier Doug Ford using deli meat.

“I called him ‘Meathead,’” she said jokingly.

It is a subtle dig at the Premier, but that’s the point, she says. It’s a way of addressing tough political topics like tariffs with a sense of humour.

Salsberg Mathews hopes her latest portrait gets the attention of one Member of Parliament in particular who has been trying to bring Canadians together during this trade war.

“I’m trying to get a hold of Charlie Angus because I want to donate the rights to the Three Amigos so that Charlie can use them as a fundraiser. Maybe t-shirts, notecards, raise some money for what he’s doing,” she said.

Despite how appetizing, or unappetizing, the finished products may look she doesn’t eat them.

“No, no. I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I’d get sick, yeah, maybe get botulism or something. But my husband once ate some of the leftovers because he couldn’t stand to see me throw out the food,” she said.

And if you’re wondering who he ate: “I think it was Donald. It was ‘Deli Don.’ Just the meat,” said Salsberg Mathews.

She reiterates that none of it is meant to offend people. Instead, it is intended to spark a laugh or maybe even give people some food for thought.