Cooking /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Cooking class, OaxacaMexicoAugust 2013This cooking class was one of my favorite experiences in Mexico. First we bought all of the ingredients in a small local market, and then we took two cars to our chef’s home where we set up in her beautifu…

Cooking class, Oaxaca
Mexico
August 2013

This cooking class was one of my favorite experiences in Mexico. First we bought all of the ingredients in a small local market, and then we took two cars to our chef’s home where we set up in her beautiful kitchen. We learnt to make tortilla soup, zucchini blossoms stuffed with oaxacan cheese, chiles en nogada and coconut flan. The atmosphere in the kitchen was lively and collaborative. We were all involved in helping prepare each dish; we diced fruit and vegetables, stuffed chiles, washed blossoms, peeled the skin off walnuts, and sliced fresh cheese. We all agreed it was one of the best meals we’ve ever played a part in preparing. 

Mercado Democracia /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Mercado Democracia, Oaxaca, Mexico
August, 2013

The featherless chickens at the markets in Mexico are always bright yellow, like chickens in Looney Tunes cartoons. Their yellow legs and necks were poking up in the air on shelves in markets everywhere we went. We could not figure out why their skin was so yellow compared to chickens in Australia or the United States, so a couple of weeks into our trip, we asked our Mexican guide who was showing us around a market in San Cristobal. He said they are so yellow because they are raised on fresh Mexican corn and nothing else.  

Among the other amazing things we saw in markets, were the bowls heaped high with fried, crispy brown grasshoppers. The flavor? Kind of bitter actually.

Fort Tryon Park /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Fort Tryon Park, ManhattanJuly 2013In the height of summer, we went to the top of Manhattan to visit the cloisters of the Met. It must have been in the high 80s this day, and I remember I bought a soft serve ice cream and it started melting all over…

Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
July 2013

In the height of summer, we went to the top of Manhattan to visit the cloisters of the Met. It must have been in the high 80s this day, and I remember I bought a soft serve ice cream and it started melting all over my hands faster than I could eat it. 

Teotihuacan /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Teotihuacan, Mexico
August 2013

The pyramids at Teotihuacan have secrets inside them.

Inside the pyramids, there are smaller, older pyramids. To glorify their rulers, the Mesoamericans would rebuild pyramids over existing pyramids, sometimes up to six times. 

To even build a single pyramid, is an amazing feat. 

I like to imagine the pyramids inside pyramids inside pyramids, stacked over each other like Russian dolls. 

Musicians /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Musicians, Mexico City
August 2013

At top, a beautiful green street in Colonia Condesa. Cafe diners are serenaded by a busker on guitar.

At bottom, a talented quartet are busking on the subway. The guitarist drew attention to us by speaking to us in English, then broke into song.  

Subway /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Subway, New York
July 2013

This could have been at night, or maybe we were just inside a tunnel. I don’t recall taking this photo, but there it was when I developed the film. I wonder where I was going.

Flowers /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Mercado de Flores, Mexico City
Mexico
August 2013

On our last day in Mexico City we happened to pass this flower market in the early morning on our way to see some museums. The market was a single strip of stalls, all facing the street, alongside a very busy road. Most of the men who worked at the stalls were sitting with their flowers, waiting for custom. One stall owner was amused by us or curious about us, and came out of his stall and began to pose for photos with us. Before we left he gave each of us a single pink rose. It was a sweet, small moment; and one of the many, many nice and unexpected things that happened during our time in Mexico.

Condesa /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Colonia Condesa, Mexico City, Mexico
August 2013

If I lived in Mexico City, I would want to live in the Condesa neighborhood, with its mixture of art deco buildings, wide streets and plentiful greenery. 

Houses /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Liesl Pfeffer
French Colonial from the series American houses
2013
Pigment print on hahnemuhle
Edition 1/10
70 x 70 cm

After I moved to America, I started photographing homes. People here live above liquor stores and car wash stations. People live right up against each other in the tallest blocks with the smallest windows. I live in an old warehouse with a wooden floor that has a history marked in dents and cracks, and there are two small bullet holes in the windows from the time this neighborhood was bad. There is a man who lives so close above me that sometimes at night I can hear him rolling in his bed on the other side of the ceiling.

Every morning I bike across Brooklyn from my home to my office. I see people leaving their homes, getting on buses, buying their morning coffee, making their way to school or work. Through photographing and reconstructing their homes, I am getting to know these people and I am making sense of my place in this city.

The series American houses is an ongoing project.

Puebla /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Landscape in Puebla state, Mexico
August 2013

The Mexican countryside was much more lush and mountainous than in my imagination. On the road between Mexico City and Oaxaca, our bus crossed several frighteningly high and narrow bridges to shorten the distance between mountains.

Mexico City /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Mexico City DF, Mexico
August 2013

I have just returned from three weeks in Central America. Life in Mexico is lived openly and joyfully. Amorous couples caress and kiss in the street and the parks. Freshly prepared food is enjoyed on corners, in bars, on patios, in plazas. Everything is colorful, patterned, rich with decoration. I can barely put into words yet how much I loved being there.