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A Carp in the Tub: the photography project tracing fish, and adoption

A Carp in the Tub is a photographic series created by a collaboration between photographer Louise Hagger, prop stylist JoJo Li and food stylist Victoria Granof.

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All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

The series consists of six photographs with corresponding recipes and a "not funny-but funny essay" written by Granof. Together, the images, text and food instructions serve to tell the story of Granof’s winter-long journey to adopt her infant son in Ukraine.

Each image tells a story beyond the immediate: the Salo (pork fat) image hints at Granof's arrival in Ukraine, with nothing but a bottle of vodka and half a loaf of black bread. "That time we ate the pork fat – Salo – sliced thinly, accompanied by raw garlic, black bread and ice-cold vodka," she writes.

One of the most charming vignettes relates to the little chihuahua. "Occasionally Sergei would ask me to translate rap songs by 50 Cent (which he pronounced “Fitty”) and a tomato jar would explode," Granof writes. "The freakish chihuahua barked incessantly."

As for the carp that lends the series its name? Granof writes: "If you want to take a bath, do it today; I’m bringing the carp tomorrow and it lives in the tub till Easter,' said Natalia helpfully. WAIT. Easter is three months away."

A Russian tea service with a metal teapot, glass of tea, gingerbread biscuit, layered cake, condensed milk tin and coffee jar arranged on a painted blue-green surface
Sliced salo (pork fat) arranged on a decorative white plate with blue trim, scattered on a red surface with a glass of vodka, garlic clove and bread crumbs nearby
Long-haired chihuahua sitting beside glass jars of preserved tomatoes and a vintage kitchen scale on a turquoise table
A cluttered Soviet-era kitchen counter with a cream-coloured pot with blue stripes, red tomato wallpaper, bottles of oil and vodka, fresh ingredients, and a vintage electric stove
A carp lies in a bathroom bathtub decorated with yellow flower stickers, alongside folded patterned cloths and a yellow basket hanging above
A domestic interior with a metal radiator topped with crusty bread, beneath a blue wall decorated with patterned paper and vintage Cyrillic publications
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