My niece, Acacia, and I are collaborating on an epic art project inspired by the theme of The Hesperides.
Our first piece, The Star, explores themes of hope, creativity, inspiration, and renewal. It portrays a young peasant girl in a wistful moment, pausing from her chores to daydream of a more fulfilling life elsewhere. Though she is youthful, her dreams—like the ancient cántaro she rests upon—carry the timeless human longing for change and the hope of something better.
Visually, this piece takes the form of a classic glamour portrait, lit in the style of 1930s studio photography—an aesthetic that feels perfectly suited to a piece called The Star. For me, the image also carries a personal sense of renewal: I hadn’t photographed a portrait in over a decade, and Acacia’s encouragement (or perhaps her insistence! 😄) gave me the reason I needed to pick up the camera and start making images again.
