I’m very excited and proud to have had these two photos chosen for inclusion in a New York Photo Festival exhibition called, “Feast your Eyes.”
The first photo, “Portrait of Baba Zina in her kitchen,” was taken during my second meeting with Baba Zina and my first time in her home. Baba Zina was busy jarring tomatoes when we arrived and I had this wonderful, spontaneous opportunity to photograph her. I love this portrait because she is laughing and smiling and warm - most likely telling us something funny - but also busy working in her kitchen. This is exactly as I remember her! It’s also one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken.
The second photo, “Marina Picking Apples,” was taken early one morning after a delicious breakfast, which Marina had cooked for us. We were about to leave on a six hour car trip west and Marina wanted us to have apples from her tree as a snack while on the road. The abundance of fruit trees growing all around us in Kakichev - apples, apricots, and berries - was nothing like I had ever seen or experienced before. I love this photo of Marina in her yard, picking apples from her tree, because it perfectly preserves that sweet memory!
Both photos were taken this summer while on expedition with the American Friends of Russian Folklore in a small, Cossack khuter (village) called Kakichev, in Rostov Province, in the south of Russia. The aim of this folklore expedition was to collect stories about witchcraft and magical spells and also to research musical traditions and record songs in the village. For me, the experience of learning about growing everything you eat, making cheese and yogurt from the milk of your own cow, preparing every meal and leaving nothing to waste; discussing food among lively and very long group meals was also as much a part of the experience as anything else. Having grown up in a suburb of New Jersey and now a city dweller for over a decade - I was fascinated by living in this small village and learning by experiencing their food culture.
“Feast your Eyes,” opens today at the Powerhouse Arena in DUMBO at 6pm and runs through January 27th.
