Deirdre Fírinne & Manuela Sanchez by Mario Sorrenti for Document Journal Issue #15

Deirdre Fírinne stares into the eyes of this majestic creature and there you can see their spirits unite. Equal parts beauty and grace so is the Snowy Owl. In one of the most tender captures of the season we see Humanity Expand as we witness this elegant creature out of it’s native land. Perched on her arms, his talons made to tear into the hardest of bark, he sits lightly on her skin as if just to be. They have met on another plane of existence. To dive into the Snowy Owl’s Eyes is to dive into truth. We are privy to this exquisite exchange through the powerful photography of the great Mario Sorrenti. To capture such a moment you must first have found your own peace.

Here we are looking at a backdrop that’s really just varying shades. However, the imagery is so utterly hypnotic we find ourselves seeing something more. There’s a mystical element to this story that lifts us to another place. If we look long enough, into the deep blue of Deirdre’s eyes, we find ourselves lost in the moment. Her gaze is hypnotic. Most of the shots shield us from her glare, as her look is not simple it is a strong stare. There’s nowhere to run nowhere to hide, this is an optical anomaly. this is a picture of pride.

Sarah Richardson uses the art of fashion to highlight our humanity. Ruffled fabrics echo the petals of the flower as each vibrant piece is less a cover-up than a cloth conveyor. She is a Symbol of We. A Picture of Poetry. She is Female Strength Personified. A Woman in Flight. I see Dierdre/Manuela as the same person. Both naked faced we are witness to the truth of beauty. I don’t distinguish between them. I think this is a picture of the whole of Humanity.

Her cheeks are rosy as freckles line her dewy face. Her skin is but a masterpiece. Petros Petrohilos highlights her ocean eyes by bleaching her brows, giving rise to the pinkness in her cheeks and lips. To understand this, is to honor the frailty of her beauty. The beautiful frailty of being. It is soft in a world that is hard. It is warm is place so cold. Art breaks as beauty takes a moment to make contact. Home to the Artic Tundra we go. Eye to eye why am I but afraid. I am but a watcher a wanderer of woe. To travel in time here and there I do go. To catch but a glimpse of this spectacle in sight is to ride on the wings of this glorious flight. One of my favorite stanzas from poem Snowy Owl Near Ocean Shores.

Poetic Prose; Duane Niatum…
An hour of wind and sleet whips the air,
nothing darts or passes but the river underground.
A North Pole creature shows us how to last.
The wind ruffles his feathers from crown to claw
while he gazes into zeroes the salt-slick rain.
As a double-rainbow before us arcs sky and owl,
we leave him surrendering
 to the echo of his white refrain.