After moving to the US from Europe, that was living the revival of indigenous pre-Christian faith at a time, I started searching for something similar to be part of here, in NYC. And to my surprise, I did find the whole spectrum of traditional and neo-pagan groups that mostly called themselves… witches. The “witch” is commonly perceived as an archetype featured in ancient mythologies and folklore, of multiple religions and cosmogonies, the one who understands or sees more than others. But how they go about their business in real life residing in the metropolis like NYC?
First, my objective was documenting how those modern-day witches fit in and the challenges they face in urban society. Witches of New York blog and Instagram account under the same name now hold 5 years’ worth of photos and videos. While my documentary project went on, a shift in US political climate, “me too” movement and the rise of influencer culture turned witches into the trend that even big box stores started capitalizing on. And I felt the actual witches has got very little real representation.
That’s how Portrait if the Witch was born: the real people that are also witches. I wanted to create the portraits showing not only the power that they possess or how different they are but also their humanity – the real people, regardless of how media is portraying them. These are witches I met in NYC rituals and gatherings. Some have been here since 60ies, some were not even born at that time. Portrayed as real people of our days (despite gender, color, age, sexual or political orientation) but also as Witches (Mages, Wizards, Healers, Druids, Mambos, Occultists, Shamans, etc.) they claim they are.