This remarkable work from Acadiana artist Herb Roe is part of a collection titled Louisiana Food Still Lifes, for which Roe photographed his daily lunches at local eateries in Lafayette—focusing on the regional comfort food of South Louisiana: rice and gravy plates, boudin, gratons, and, of course shrimp poboys.
In a world ever-leaning toward efficiency, virality, and homogenization, people in this region have historically taken pride in the unique foodways that set our culture apart. We take part in these collective “meal memories” by purchasing a poboy made from fish caught by our neighbors, by practicing the ritual of preparing our mother’s stuffed artichoke recipe, or by visiting a neighborhood restaurant that still serves chicken just as it did when it opened forty years ago. There’s something spiritual about our relationship to food, here.
[Read more about this month’s cover artist, Herb Roe, here.]…