The book is an intimate portrayal of women within the isolated Mennonite communities in Nuevo Ideal, in the state of Durango, and La Onda, in Zacatecas, Mexico. That attention to detail is clear in many of Adorno’s photographs – the arrangement of bowls on a table; plaster moldings of teeth on a window sill; a lone magnet of a married couple on a refrigerator.
In the 1920s, the Mexican government granted land in three different states to a handful of Mennonite groups fleeing religious persecution in Europe. These isolated agricultural communities still exist today, continuing their religious practice and ways of life. Mexican photographer Eunice Adorno was able to gain access to these isolated groups, living among them and documenting their customs. Intrigued particularly by the Mennonite women she met, Adorno made their inner world and lives the focus of her work, following them through their daily rituals as they would elaborately braid and coil their hair, play with their children, and work around the home. As Adorno describes them in her introduction, "Separated from work and from their husbands, the women forge their own universe, fashioned out of chats, memories, secrets, friendships, pleasures and diversions, and they hide this universe beneath their cumbersome and unrevealing clothes and a reserved gaze directed at the world."
Featured image is reproduced from Eunice Adorno: Las Mujeres Flores. "Hair combing at sunset. Every Thursday afternoon, young people gather on the fields, around the crops and nearby the houses. Nuevo Ideal, Durango, Mexico, 2010"
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
TIME Lightbox
Patrick Witty
The book is an intimate portrayal of women within the isolated Mennonite communities in Nuevo Ideal, in the state of Durango, and La Onda, in Zacatecas, Mexico. That attention to detail is clear in many of Adorno's photographs - the arrangement of bowls on a table; plaster moldings of teeth on a window sill; a lone magnet of a married couple on a refrigerator.
"The first time Mexican photographer Eunice Adorno saw the flower girls, they were standing in the shadow of a tree, wearing shiny pantyhose, staring directly at her. 'When I walked up to them, there was a mysterious silence,' Adorno said. 'When I talked to them, their sole reply was an enigmatic glance. From that moment on, I felt an immense curiosity for them.'
This was the beginning of a project that spanned the course of several years, culminating in the book, Las Mujeres Flores, published this month by La Fabrica. The book is an intimate portrayal of women within the isolated Mennonite communities in Nuevo Ideal, in the state of Durango, and La Onda, in Zacatecas, Mexico.
'Gaining their trust was a slow process,' Adorno said. 'Little by little, they started inviting me to their houses, to have tea with them, to go for a walk.' The community spoke German, which was a barrier for Adorno, who speaks English and Spanish, so she got to know them through the places where they spend their lives and through family photographs they showed her. 'In my own pictures I try to highlight the importance of those details, their objects, the moments and places they cherish.'
That attention to detail is clear in many of Adorno's photographs – the arrangement of bowls on a table; plaster moldings of teeth on a window sill; a lone magnet of a married couple on a refrigerator. Adorno also focused deeply on portraiture. The first was of a woman named Maria, after she unbraided her hair. 'As she stood by the door and stared directly into the camera, I felt a sort of complicity, an acceptance of the camera. It was incredible.'
Adorno said she was heavily influenced not only by August Sander’s portraits and Magnum photographer Larry Towell’s work on the Mennoninte community, but also by the women themselves. 'I was amazed by the feminine universe so full of color,' she said. - Patrick Witty, Time LightBox
FORMAT: Pbk, 6.75 x 9.5 in. / 112 pgs / illustrated throughout. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $60 GBP £39.00 ISBN: 9788415303336 PUBLISHER: La Fábrica AVAILABLE: 3/31/2012 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: WORLD Excl LA Spain
Published by La Fábrica. The book is an intimate portrayal of women within the isolated Mennonite communities in Nuevo Ideal, in the state of Durango, and La Onda, in Zacatecas, Mexico. That attention to detail is clear in many of Adorno’s photographs – the arrangement of bowls on a table; plaster moldings of teeth on a window sill; a lone magnet of a married couple on a refrigerator.
In the 1920s, the Mexican government granted land in three different states to a handful of Mennonite groups fleeing religious persecution in Europe. These isolated agricultural communities still exist today, continuing their religious practice and ways of life. Mexican photographer Eunice Adorno was able to gain access to these isolated groups, living among them and documenting their customs. Intrigued particularly by the Mennonite women she met, Adorno made their inner world and lives the focus of her work, following them through their daily rituals as they would elaborately braid and coil their hair, play with their children, and work around the home. As Adorno describes them in her introduction, "Separated from work and from their husbands, the women forge their own universe, fashioned out of chats, memories, secrets, friendships, pleasures and diversions, and they hide this universe beneath their cumbersome and unrevealing clothes and a reserved gaze directed at the world."
