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Writer's pictureAnnMarie Tornabene

The End of 2024 Musings

As 2024 comes to a close, and as I do every year, I'd like to share my reflections of the year. It is the end of my 9th year living in France so in January 2025, will mark my 10th year - a milestone, I suppose. While a part of me feels like I have been here for that long, I still feel I am in flux. Honestly, I always have and it is why a major theme of my photographic works, especially this year has been about finding a place to call home, trying to establish roots and a connection to a place where it is hard to feel a connection to. In part, it is certainly because the language barrier somewhat still evident as I find learning the language slow in spite of my surprising progression.

 

It is also because - as it has been even in the United States - I am an introvert, more at ease with animals and the forest than within a social human group. I enjoy meeting and speaking to people, especially if they are warm and friendly but I prefer to be off on my own, most of the time. And with so-called social practices further separating us than bringing us together in addition to our political climate, I have created even more space between myself and others. Lastly, the difficulty in establishing roots is because 6 months prior to leaving the United States for France, I was living in an unstable situation with an uncertain future, and now, once again, with financial problems at hand spending the last year and a half in the social housing system waiting for a new, cheaper place to live, I have been surrounded by constant reminders that I am still not settled anywhere. While I have spent most of my life in places I didn't choose, I didn't feel unstable in my living conditions like now. As I have no control over this housing process, I have had personal difficulties but have managed to pour my soul into my artistic work more than ever.

 

I have created and finished 3 bodies of work: Re-Wild, Papillon and Almost Forgotten. Re-Wild has already been published in The Eye of Photography, I've had an exhibition of selected images from that series as well as Papillon this past November during the month of photography and in a major annual of art and photography by Corridor Élephant.

 

Almost Forgotten is a project that I began the year I moved here - 2015 and felt it fitting to complete the end of this year. At first glance, it is a vast selection of very pretty, romantic imagery of me posing in front of and within castles and ruins and while that can seem superficial, my statement is not. It is still connected to the theme of looking for a connection. I have spent my childhood yearning to be in fairy tales, in idyllic, romantic settings and also with a fascination for exploring areas with an ancient past. Difficulty in finding that in the US, I was excited to be able to find these places rather easily here in France. And, as I have eluded, with this era of modern technology creating a further disconnect from the human spirit and where the idea of the romantic image and even the preservation of tradition and history is slowly disappearing, I sought even more, to find and connect to places and ideals of romanticism.

 

During this year, I also took, what I consider a courageous step to create a vlog series, loosely titled “Series of Series” on my YouTube channel where I share selected works and discuss, on a minute level, the ideas behind them, some anecdotes and more. If you have not subscribed to my channel, please do so and while you are there, you can find some perfomance videos that I have created over the years either as companion pieces to certain series or in addition including my most recent one entitled White Raven with authorization so generously given by musician Martine Kraft and her project Iwashere for the use of her music!

 

And while so thankful to be able to continue my self-portrait work and for it to be seen, I am ever so grateful to have sold more than 115 copies of My Body Collective which is more than half the copies that I have had printed, thanks to my supporters via Kickstarter who believed in me and my endeavor to write and share my autobiography and my often painful past and how I have taken these experiences and used them in my art and in my job as an artists' model. I have sold these books without real distribution except through social media platforms, my site and through my model sessions. I have received so much amazing feedback, loving and encouraging words and I have been told that I am inspiring, which is really so humbling. It was one of the reasons, of course, for writing my story – to inspire those who had had difficult lives to find a creative and positive outlet in order to express themselves – to find therapeutic exercises in helping go through the process of self-acceptance and healing.

 

With that, I would like to end this post with words of love and thanks for your support and your continued interest in my work. I do hope that you continue to visit my website to see my work, to read my newsletters and to be here. I encourage you also that if you have any comments, questions, questions on purchases or more, do not hesitate to contact me direct via my email address. I am always happy to respond.

 

My love to you all and a very happy, healthy and loving holiday season and a hopeful new year.






 

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