Photomanipulation nominee

"Every time I close my eyes, I see your face..."
- Lustral

Dreamcatchers were traditionally used as talismans to protect sleeping people, usually children, from bad dreams and evil spirits. When hung above the bed, legends held that the spider web design of the dreamcatcher would allow good dreams to pass through and float down the hanging beads and feathers to comfort the sleeper below.

Over the last few months I have been struggling to sleep. My heart is heavy and my mind is on a loop, haunted by dreams and memories. While taking medication sometimes helps, relief is short lived and not a long term solution. So I bought a dreamcatcher. But what does one do when it is the good dreams that are harder to bear than the nightmares and monsters?

Margherita Introna is a self-taught fine art photographer born and living in Cape Town, South Africa. She specializes in conceptual fine art portraiture with a surreal and whimsical twist.

Most of her portfolio is self-portraiture as in most instances she prefers to create work that is autobiographical. By including elements such as movement, dramatic skies and vibrant colours, Margherita creates work that is deeply emotional, intense and atmospheric. She chooses to create images in a world from a different and older time, one far more whimsical and fairytale than our own. In doing so, the emotions conveyed are easier to bear.

Margherita has participated in a number of exhibitions, both group and solo, over the last few years. These include many locally, as well as internationally in Europe and the USA. She has also curated and hosted a number of group exhibitions, and is the founder of the Deep South Community Art initiative, which is in support of TEARS Animal Rescue. Her work has been featured in various international magazines and on book covers. As from 2017 Margherita started presenting lectures and doing photographic critiquing at various photographic societies and creative clubs in and around Cape Town.