Sensual Predestination (for Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin) is a sculptural installation consisting of two mounted plexiglass mirrors, each laser-etched with direct excerpts from the chapter titled "Sensual Predestination" in Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s The Physiology of Taste (1825). These passages—reproduced exactly and without editorial alteration—categorize individuals based on their physical attributes, distinguishing those "predestined" for gourmandism from those purportedly denied such pleasures by nature.

The first text, etched in gold, describes individuals deemed naturally inclined toward gastronomic enjoyment. It details traits such as round or square faces, bright eyes, full lips, rounded chins, and a general plumpness—particularly emphasizing physical attractiveness and social charm among women predisposed to delicacies. In contrast, the second text, etched in grey, portrays those "denied" such pleasures: individuals characterized by elongated faces, thin frames, dark flat hair, and a perceived social disinterest in food, finding more excitement in cards and gossip.

Mounted on reflective surfaces, the installation implicates the viewer directly within the work. Confronted with these historical, pseudo-scientific categorizations while seeing their own reflection, participants are forced to question their relationship to appearance, appetite, and identity. The mirror becomes both a tool of self-inspection and a critique of enduring societal systems that link physical traits to moral, social, and cultural worth.

Although written in the late 18th century, Brillat-Savarin’s descriptions resonate disturbingly with contemporary discourses surrounding body image, consumer culture, and social status. Sensual Predestination highlights the persistence of such reductive classifications, drawing attention to how deeply entrenched—and how culturally resilient—these modes of bodily judgment remain. By recontextualizing this historical text in a contemporary sculptural form, Reynolds invites reflection on the lasting intersections between gastronomy, aesthetic judgment, and social exclusion.

Both passages abstracted from “Sensual Predestination” chapter of The Physiology of Taste by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, published in 1825.

Gold Text:
People Predestined to gourmandism are in general of medium height; they have round or square faces, bright eyes, small foreheads, short noses, full lips and rounded chins.  The women so predisposed are plump, more likely to be pretty than beautiful, and have a tendency toward corpulence.  The ones who are most fond of tidbits and delicacies are finer featured, with daintier hair, they are more attractive, and above all are distinguished by a way of speaking which is all their own.           

Grey Text:
People to whom Nature has denied the capacity for such enjoyment, on the other hand, have long faces, noses, and eyes; no matter what their height, they seem to have a general air of elongation about them.  They have flat dark hair, and above all lack healthy weight; it is undoubtedly they who invented trousers, to hide their thin shanks.  Women whom Nature has afflicted in the same miserable way are scrawny, and bored at table, and exist only for cards and sly gossip.