Eid Candy in Queens, NY, USA
Eid Candy is from a project that I’m currently shooting, Moving Forward Standing Still: Queens Edition, paying homage to Queens, my home borough of New York City. The Queens edition will include new work to be photographed in Corona, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Flushing. These particular neighborhoods are the most culturally diverse in the world and it is this intersection of cultures that will be the focus of the Queens project. The images will be more urban than those in the larger project- there are more streets than vistas in Queens. Growing up in Queens allowed me to be comfortable hearing multiple dialogues spoken. The offerings of ethnic food filled my curiosity about cultures. Having friends whose families hailed from halfway around the world was the norm. It was natural for me to travel and explore the world where my neighbors are from. This project is about going full circle: seeing the world, re-examining my immediate home environment and then seeing the world within the neighborhoods of Queens.
Occupation: Photographer
Preoccupation: Food and travel. What else is there to live for?
Perfect day in Queens? It would a sunny, warm, Spring or Fall day. I would hop on the 7 train or bike to go swimming in Flushing Meadow Park. Afterward, I would grab some empanadas at Empanadas del Parque to eat, and maybe top it off with one of their tropical flavored ice pops. I’d bike or walk some more in the park, around all the World’s Fair monuments to work up another appetite. Dinner would either be the best Thai food restaurant in NYC- Chao Thai (in Elmhurst), where spicy is actually Thai spicy or my favorite pizza joint- John’s Pizza in Forest Hills.