AnnMarie Tornabene sends us her latest series called Re-Wild. In fact, this series of self-portraits is the culmination of several series created between 2021 and 2024. She accompanies it with this text.
There is a song by musical artist Heather Nova called “Re-wild Me”. She wrote this to express her need to reconnect with nature and this need completely resonates in me. Throughout my life, I have not felt connected to contemporary times or places but it is in the forest, in nature, where I find this connection. However, in recent years, between my move to another county as well as aging, the desire to find roots and become more grounded have grown in me but because of how our world has become uglier, more aggressive and less connected with humanity, the need to escape from the world also lingers. No matter what, it is always in the forest, where I engage with nature that the desire to become part of it all becomes stronger.
I began these multiple series of self-portraits in 2021 as we emerged from the COVID epidemic, when contemporary society made even less sense to me and when an uncertainty for major aspects of my future became more prominent. I have alternated photographing these images between the use of a Holga film camera and a digital SLR depending on the level of difficulty of work as most of these images were made alone without assistance. They have also been taken both in the forest as well as in my studio when I was unwell having physical difficulties. The commonality of all these images, however, is the desire to connect, to become one with natural forces.
AnnMarie Tornabene
AnnMarie Tornabene is a New York – born photographer and professional artists’ model now residing in France, she has spent more than 27 years exploring self-portraiture. Her work deals with self-acceptance, body image, spirituality, connections and other aspects/issues in her personal life. It is narrative, often invoking fairy-tale and romantic imagery that hint at contemporary ideologies including the use of symbolism for creating visual metaphors.
AnnMarie graduated from Long Island University, New York with a BFA in Photography, magna cum laude. She has won several awards and exhibits internationally. She has been interviewed by women’s groups and reviewed by The New York Times, Newsday, and other local newspapers. She has also been published in fine art magazines and other printed media. Virtually, her photographs have been featured on art blogs and online fine art magazines. She has spoken at universities and with artists’ groups and her images have inspired essays and prose. Her work is included in several personal and institutional collections in France, the US, Canada, UK, Hungary and Japan.
www.annmarietornabene.net
www.instagram.com/annmarietornabene
