Launching on August 28th in Japan, the first collection of Czech photographer Marie Tomanova embodies «humanity, connecting as humans, being young and alive, and being yourself»
With the creative industries becoming more inclusive and political, the art of photography and perspectives on generations witnessed a 360* turnover. Former taboos and extremes are being screened and thematised, inviting creatives and society to question their perceptions and legacies.
The work of photographer Marie Tomanova, who is known for shooting on film with a Yashica T4 landscape format at a range of less than two feet, evaluates the issues of displacement, identity, inclusivity, gender, sexuality and memory. After art historian Thomas Beachdel, Tomanova’s portraits «visualize an America in which individuality is valued as uniqueness and not judged as a lack of sameness. Her images confront us directly and without artifice with the power and beauty of people simply being. It is about optimism, youth, and the connection between people—the humanness that is essential to us all. Tomanova relates to her subjects—they relate to her».
Usually transmitting messages through the means of photography, Tomanova now utilizes a new medium of communication by launching her first collection, together with the Japanese label Estnation.
Unveiled on August 28th in Japan, the collection discusses the meaning of being juvenile in today’s society. Shot on Tomanova’s downtown New York City friends, the collection comprises a range of hoodies and T-shirts, in clean colours or batik dyed, all featuring photographs from her ‘Young American’ series. «The collection was created with the photographs from my Young American series embodying the humanity I believe in, connecting as humans, being young and alive, and being yourself», explains the photographer.
In the introduction to Toanova’s books ‘Young American’, photographer and videographer Ryan McGinley states «This is a future free of gender binaries and stale old definitions of beauty. In Marie’s world people can just simply be. I wish all of America’s youth culture looked like Marie’s photos of Downtown, diverse and inclusive».
A video, created by Sam Centore, accompanies the collection lookbook, captureing the buzzing life of the Youth in New York city. «In a way, Young American is about the process of trying to fit myself into the landscape of American youth not only as a validation for myself but to all the beautiful people who are here—a reminder that we are all part of something bigger».
