latino-diversity:     MariaMaria is a photography project created by Turkish photographer Pinar Yola

latino-diversity:     MariaMaria is a photography project created by Turkish photographer Pinar Yolaçan. Pinar traveled to the Brazilian Island of Ithaparica in the state of Bahia, a 40 minute boat ride from the capital city of Salvador. The subjects of her portraits are all Afro-Brazilian women ranging from the ages of twenty-seven and ninety. “I found a lot of inspiration in the African culture: Salvador was once the largest port for the slave trade in the New World, and while Ithaparica is one the poorest islands in Brazil’s rural northeast, people seemed very eccentric and sophisticated.””[Mara is] a very common Portuguese name of course, and is either the first or second name of almost all the women I photographed in Bahia, and of course, the icon of Mary is ever-present in Bahia. Women wear necklaces with the Virgin Mary’s face on them and decorate the walls of their homes and stores with her image. Obviously none of my models look like these traditional depictions of Maria, so I am referring to this religious icon when I call the women Maria. The title is also a commentary on the colonial process of renaming (or creating an identity for) people.”“The women’s garments are made out of fabric I bought in local fabric stores and of placenta and other animal parts that I bought in Salvador’s São Joaquim market. I was particularly interested in placenta because it’s a female organ that develops during birth. Most of the clothes are inspired from the Baroque era and Portuguese colonial style architecture in Salvador. There is also lots of draping - similar to biblical statues.”- Pinar Yolaçan -- source link
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