To this day one of our favorite photographers, hers is a work we return to when we loose touch with that primal sense of magick, wonder and mystery that we always long for in art and photography. That state of being transported to some other place and time as if in a drug induced dream. A place where time ceases to be and everyone is free to exist as a character in their dreams. Our society has put a stranglehold on that type of freedom of expression. Portraiture is something that an artist returns to again and again, a form of introspection or analyses, the artist ultimately realizes that no matter the subject, it’s ultimately a reflection of themselves we see projected. Great portrait artists weather through the medium of painting or photography are capable of capturing that fleeting expression or gesture that can encapsulate the zeitgeist of an era, yet at the same time it is ageless and defies the time period in which it was created. It will always resonate with it’s audience no matter the time period.

I first discovered Irina Ionesco’s work about 20 years ago, in some dusty shop no doubt. Truthfully I can’t recall when or where, but her work made an immediate impression on me and it’s one of the reasons I picked up a camera. It struck me as the work of someone who photographed for the pure joy of it, a rare thing then and an even rarer thing now. It still amazes me that her name will come up in certain sophisticated photographic circles and rarely if at all does anyone know who she is. Still her work continues to enchant and inspire me 20 years hence.