D E L I C A C Y

“Delicacy”, 30x40”, 4x5 b&w, Knoll + Cella, 2009, 15 images

"quod ali cibus est aliis fuat acre venenum"

“What is food to one may be poison to another.”

Lucretius De Rerum Natura iv. 637

Shopping in wet markets and grocery stores in countries where we can't read the signs or labels sparked this project. We found beauty in edible items that may be special but certainly not strange to locals. Often not knowing what they were and sometimes shy to try them, we brought them to our studio to photograph for their appearance or packaging alone. Many seemed both strange and exquisite at the same time. Even in each other's western country of origin, Austria and the US, we found many of the other's delicacies perplexing. Our intention is to document the sublime, both horror and beauty, in things treasured and most intimately experienced by some and repelled by others. This project is a celebration of an aspect of foreignness we treasure.