Sarjeant on the Quay hosting demonstration by sugar artist Tracy Byatt

Tracy Byatt will be at Sarjeant on the Quay on Saturday morning. Photo / Supplied

Sugar is an unlikely medium to use in artwork - but it's been award-winning for a Whanganui artist who is set to show off her skills.

Tracy Byatt's Pattillo Project exhibition 'An Impossible Bouquet' is currently on display at Sarjeant on the Quay, and Byatt will be in the gallery on Saturday, April 10, to demonstrate the methods she uses to produce her artwork.

'An Impossible Bouquet' was a year-long project for Byatt and the culmination of a lifelong fascination with the natural world.

The bouquet contains 22 botanically correct specimens including foxglove, delphinium and hollyhock, which were made over two seasons.

Byatt, who makes her works with a simple paste of icing sugar, egg white and glue, won the open award at last year's Patillo Whanganui Arts Review for her entry 'Parrot Tulips – A Study in Sugar'.

"Sugar as an art medium was first documented during the European Renaissance, where it was used to sculpt extremely grand and ornate centrepieces for royal banquets, particularly in Italy," Byatt said.

"Sugar at that time was extremely rare and expensive, so it was a symbol of wealth and status.

"It almost feels like I am able to reach back and touch the past, with sugar art being the constant while the world around us has changed beyond recognition, and I feel not always for the better."

She will be at Sarjeant on the Quay on Saturday from 10.30am to 12.30pm, demonstrating the techniques she used to create 'An Impossible Bouquet' and her other artworks. The event is free.

The exhibition runs until May 9.