Praxis is pleased to present The Cookbook a solo exhibition by photographer Lucia Fainzilber (b. 1986, Buenos Aires, Argentina).
In the intangible world of social media, food is regarded almost exclusively through its visual appearance, appreciated in highly elaborate photos that turn food into a fetish. Consumed only virtually by viewers, food remains in an imaginary state of deliciousness as an unrealizable desire. This digital presence implies a certain perspective of extraordinary privilege: having fulfilled its performance as a requirement for biological survival the question of food supply becomes a matter of entertainment.
The representation of food used to serve as figurative elements in still-life compositions. These decorative paintings were as meticulously staged as today’s posts, and anticipated the overhead shots that are now universal in the visual language of food of our digital times.
