A single mom eats alone while watching TV; a teenage girl has a bowl of pasta on her bed with eyes fixed to her computer screen; a mother feeds her baby while grandparents watch over Skype; young professionals work overtime with greasy takeout and beer at their desks. Photographer Miho Aikawa silently observes these essential evening rituals in her series Dinner in NY to discover that how we have dinner is as diverse as the subjects themselves.

A recent study in Public Health Nutrition shows us that we now do almost 50 percent of our eating while concentrating on something else. Eating as a primary activity has declined significantly in the past 30 years. These intimate portraits of mealtime environments reveal many aspects of our lives. It can be a social gathering and a time of conversation and reflection or a rushed moment of alone time at the end of a hectic and stressful day. With this series, Aikawa poses the question, what is a quality dinner?

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