Maria Antonietta Cardea: TRIBAL CONTORTIONISM

The ways of instinct are mysterious. The reflection on the lens of Maria Antonietta Cardea

extrapolates the bizarre soul of sensual forms, and the ability to combine erotic themes

to objects (and places)

The external description of the title points the finger at the unnaturalness that hovers over poses now

enter with skillful arrogance into contexts that are widely exploited to highlight lines of

border with still original meaning.

I started about 20 years ago, starting to photograph music concerts and experimenting with my friends, personal projects, I needed to express my state of mind through art and I found my way with photography

What sparked me was my inner restlessness, which over time I vented by photographing faceless, unrecognizable subjects.

Then over time I started to include faces in the projects to give depth.

At the birth of a project there is always a search for images based on the resources I have available. The design of the look of the clothes and the concept I want to express starts from there. Even if sometimes I let myself be inspired with extemporaneous ideas.

It could be authenticity and originality, but it’s not up to me to say that.

I let myself be inspired by the client if they have a very specific reason for the destination of the images.

If it’s my project, I let myself be fascinated by both feminine, masculine and fluid beauties, always giving them my restless but elegant touch.

I’ll tell you about one of my first sets made about 20 years ago, I wanted to reproduce the image of the painting of “The Narcissus”

so my friend and I snuck onto private property to take shots of this magnificent lake.

But while we were taking the shots (a small premise, my friend was naked) the caretaker arrived and made us escape… It was worth it and the escape the photos were wonderful, so sometimes taking risks isn’t such a bad thing.

The idea and the interpretation.

It’s a continuous face to face collaboration, we build the image together.

They inspire me with details, I never reproduce the same image but I let myself be inspired by films, paintings by photographers, as previously mentioned I happened to reproduce The Narcissus, but I also watched a set that tells the story of Jack the Spartator.

Lately with the art of bodypainting we have created the 4 seasons, the vampires.

I like looking at the images of Henri Cartier-Bresson the unreachable and a more modern David LaChapelle, completely opposite but with very interesting stories.

Generally I try not to distort the image, usually when I shoot I think a lot about the imminent result and not in post production, in post production I can remove some disturbing elements or perfect the skin of the seen a little, but in addition to this I always look for the naturalness.

In the end, a photographer is never just a photographer, but becomes a post producer, graphic designer, advertiser, so at the moment I am studying how to advertise not only with images but with social events.

I would have liked to study more, and have more opportunities with master classes to enter the professional field.

At the moment there is a portrait of a Vietnamese girl that I adore, it is a half-length portrait, naked but covered, her eyes covered by her hair and a red box on her mouth.

In this shot you can’t tell if the subject is a man or a woman, it leaves you a little dumbfounded.