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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Two: Travel Incongruities > Butchers bench, Essaouira, Morocco, 2006
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10-DEC-2006

Butchers bench, Essaouira, Morocco, 2006

Six headless sheep, gutted and strung up for display, beckon to customers at the weekly market near Essaouira. To western eyes, such a graphic display at the meat counter is incongruous. Even more incongruous is the subtle inclusion of the people chatting with the butcher in the shadows at left. They take no notice of the grisly display hanging only a few feet away from their noses. Butchers take such carcasses for granted. To mix a metaphor, it’s their bread and butter.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/250s f/5.6 at 22.6mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time10-Dec-2006 04:20:10
MakeLeica
ModelV-LUX 1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length22.6 mm
Exposure Time1/250 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.33
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis28-Jan-2008 04:14
Thanis, Vera, for being the first to appreciate the incongruity here -- even though, given your upbringing, the sight of dead animals hanging overhead was considered normal. As for health standards, every country has its own concept of what is healthy and what is not. This is the way Morocco's butchers have displayed their goods for centuries, and they will no doubt continue to do so.
Guest 28-Jan-2008 00:03
Oh, I can't believe no one commented on this photo. As a kid growing up I remember my brothers hunting deer, then hanging them out. I would have my picture taken with the deer pulled across the car. A way of life that, in the country, I never thought twice about. As I grew older, I realized that it shocked many, though I am sure most of them were meat eaters they likely preferred to not think about the entire process. So, for me, the hanging of the animals brought back childhood memories. Today though as I look at this picture, I imagine Health Canada closing this shop down in a heart beat.
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