page 42, seeing 1

I look at Peter Menzel's photographs and see people and food their consume in a week. I see differences and similarities. I see humans from all over of world gathered together on the pages of Menzel's book. They have the same matter in common: food is the way of existence. Existence is a sign of the future or absence of it. I see values and appreciation. Opportunities and disadvantages... Little details in the photo images describe the circumstances of living of each and every of them. The expressions of their faces, eyes in particular, tell us another story of joy or sorrow, hope or the loss of it, happiness or difficulties. The surrounding areas of where each image was taken, bring us on another journey. The blooming garden of life, the cold walls of your family household or the empty and dry dessert filled up with mixture of emotions. My eye catches the photograph of the Aboubakar Family of Chad, where each member of the family has a different story to tell. Mother's face full of worries holding her youngest daughter who is just entering this world and her insight into it still unknown. Or her oldest son expressing the signs of happiness and curiosity, intrigued by being photographed. Or the middle children who are surprised, scared, may be posing in front of the camera or going on the protest and questioning "Why are they being shot?" The summary by Faith D'Aluisio helps us to understand the images more precisely providing numerous details of the households, circumstances of their living conditions and encounters the types of food and its cost each of them consuming in different parts of the world throughout different times of the year.

Photographs captures the ordinary. Our goal is to "hear our imagination" to see the extraordinary behind it.