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Ten Questions with the Photographer Behind These Gorgeous Portraits of Chinese Ingredients

Some people take portraits of children. Some take portraits of pets. Others take portraits of dried mushrooms, dessicated squid and preserved fish bought from Chinese wet markets. Nicolas Santa Maria ...
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2020-08-13 08:00:00
Because "interviews" just sounds so staid and formal! This is where we talk to interesting people about interesting things. "Five" is more of a guideline than an actual rule.
Some people take portraits of children. Some take portraits of pets. Others take portraits of dried mushrooms, dessicated squid and preserved fish bought from Chinese wet markets. Nicolas Santa Maria Cea falls into the third category — my kind of people. In 2016, he began photographing ingredients when he and his family were living in Chilean Patagonia. When he moved to China two years ago, he continued, spending inordinate amounts of time at the markets picking out the perfect dried mushroom and then shooting a beautiful, detailed portrait of it (and many other things) against a black background. He's done the same for a whole host of foodstuffs in a series he now calls Chinese Preserves, which he is debuting this weekend at a pocket-sized space on Xingfu Lu. If you're into Chinese cooking and also into photography, or even just one of those two, you'll want to stop by for a close look at his food portraits. I spoke with him about the project and the show. Hit the jump for that.

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