(Conceptual Photo Shoot)
Low Resolution Images posted
This past Saturday afternoon I executed a photo shoot that I’d been conceptualizing for some time at Go For a Loop Studio/ Gallery in San Francisco’s Potrero.
My vision was to take the beauty, strength and mystery of female icons that have been re-constructed through history (often to serve the political ends of the patriarchy or colonizers) and place them in modern context. I conceptualized images of these strong female icons in their truth, juxtapositioned against modern and urban art/images- signifying their significance to this day and their re-emergence in the collective consciousness.
Painter James Khani was my main collaborator and it was an instant connection and meeting of the minds. His thought provoking work is featured in the mural style backdrops.
Mary of Migdal
Mary of Migdal (otherwise known as ‘Mary Magdalene’/ Mary of Magdala) is widely known as the penitent prostitute. History also reveals her as a temple priestess from the town of Migdal on the Sea of Galilee during a historical period where channeling of the Feminine aspect of the Divine (by various names/ forms in different regions and periods: the Shekhina, Isis, the Hebrew ‘Asherah’) was still widely practiced.
She was also recognized as the ‘Apostle of the Apostles’, the first Jesus revealed himself to after his physical death, despite her significance later being erased with the canonized Bible version by 4oo AD and relegated to status as a ‘whore’. All this in a context of sexuality being viewed as inherently sinful and evil, unnecessarily constructing a rift between Eros and Agape, spiritual and sensual… when they ideally co-exist. As a historical icon she embodies both purity (through repentance) and the evils of sensuality, an image that has been solidified historically and made its mark on our psyches. For me, she exemplifies healing, loyalty, transcendence and the ultimate manifestation of feminine strength.
Tonantzin
One of the principal household deities worshipped by the Mexica and by other tribes of Mesoamerica was Tonantzin ("Our Lady"), the mother goddess, identified with the moon, maize, and childbirth. The modern Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City is the principal shrine to the patron saint of Mexico, the Virgin of Guadalupe, and is located on the exact spot where the pyramid of Tonantzin once stood.
Many anthropologists believe that Our Lady of Guadalupe (an indigenous manifestation of Christ's mother Mary) is the “Christianized” Tonantzin. In some of my images, I juxtapose Tonantzin against the backdrop of the clergy in an attempt to illustrate this usurping on part of the colonizing group.
Concept/ Shoot Stylist/ Photography: Tricia Murajdová
Paintings: James Khani
Makeup for ‘Mary of Migdal’: Mariya Litvinova
Model/’Mary of Migdal’: Nashmil
Makeup for ‘Tonanzin’: Jess Berrios
Model for ‘ Tonanzin’: Jade
