Robyn Twomey’s exhibition, “Take It Personal,” at the West Tisbury library through August 31, sings with the souls of those she portrays on camera. In capturing their very essence, each photograph invites us to know the sitter on the “personal” basis mentioned in her title.
Twomey, who moved here in 2020, is a freelance editorial and fine art photographer. She has traveled internationally, taking portraits for a variety of publications. However, Twomey prefers to eschew titles, saying, “My pictures are my way of taking notes while I’m here on this planet. I am a witness to history.”
The show bursts with arresting images of those on the world stage and others closer to home. Twomey includes extensive labels to accompany each portrait, augmenting the keen insight she brings us through her visual acumen.
The first of the exhibit’s three sections is a row of portraits from an assignment she had to shoot the Apollo Theater’s Arts and Ideas Festival, a conference produced by executive director Kamilah Forbes and curated by multi-award winning author, journalist, and activist Ta-Nehisi Coates.
We see the latter in a stunning, large black-and-white close-up. His raised hand, holding a sleek black pencil, is right in front of Coates’ mouth, ready to bring forth the ideas brewing behind his penetrating gaze.
Twomey crowns the poet and playwright Felice Belle with an elaborate dried-flower headpiece by Island artist Elisabeth Sheldon, imbuing her with an appropriate creative flair. The wall label tells us that Belle is obsessed with the healing properties of storytelling and the concept of narrative identity, where the story we tell about our life becomes the life we live and/or vice versa. Turned slightly away from us, head tilted just so, Belle appears to be conjuring up her next tale.
Twomey drapes artist Bisa Butler in a sheer, sparkly fabric that draws us in to see the woman behind the veil. Dressed in a dynamic black and bold floral outfit, Butler sits, turning toward us with a straight gaze. The lustrous textile alludes to her renowned celebratory quilted portraits of people of African descent.
Twomey also turns her lens on iconic Vineyarders she feels are doing important work or have a significant history.
She captures Lee Jackson Van Allen in a transcendent moment, standing at the pathway to the site where the Baptist Temple Church once stood in Oak Bluffs. Eyes closed, face bathed in light, she appears to be communing with the spirits of her ancestors, who include her great-grandparents Henrietta and Charles Shearer of Shearer Cottage, a prominent inn and gathering spot within the Black community starting in the early 20th century.
The gorgeous portrait of Estela Cardoso, a young deaf woman who arrived on the Island with her family at 10 years old from a small Brazilian village, Mantenóplis, conveys her charismatic personality. Looking straight into the camera lens, she unabashedly pulls the sheer pink cloth across her body while standing under a tree flush with pink blossoms. “She was so game to take this fabric and pose with it,” reflects Twomey. “I love her because she’s a superwoman with all she’s gone through in life.”
Twomey captures the soulful eyes and far-off look of friend, builder, and Reggae musician Omar Jowrey. The label tells us, “Omar’s positivity radiates through his music and to all he meets. ‘The beauty is found in the struggle,’ he says.” Twomey ensconces his striking countenance amid beautiful snow-laden branches with their tiny red berries, picking up the bright red hat that tops his head.
She captures Brazilian language and culture educator Maria Moreira through the window at the Oak Bluffs library. The reflections in this evocative black-and-white photo enhance rather than obscure her earnest countenance. “My goal,” Moreira says, “is to have one community here. People want to understand each other.”
The final portion of the show is an ongoing exploration of Twomey’s mother, who has struggled with mental illness her whole life. The heartbreakingly honest series brims with poignant images, including one in which we see Twomey, shoulder down, embracing her mother, who nestles against her bosom, eyes closed, seeking solace in her grown daughter’s arms.
“I felt like, for the first time, I wanted to bring something deeply personal into what I was presenting,” Twomey shares. Reflecting on how difficult it has been to get her mother help, she says, “Living this life has really taught me to empathize with people who are dealing with the broken systems that we live within. It has driven me toward people trying to make this world a better place.
“It’s very vulnerable and hard to show this work. But there’s something about all the portraits here that I’ve tried to bring into a personal space. So, it’s work that’s meaningful for me, and she’s the catalyst for that.”
Twomey says that, “’Take It Personal’ is a call to connect on a deeply personal level with life. When we connect with others’ stories, we empathize. When we empathize, it’s impossible to dehumanize. When we see each other’s humanity, we can live in a place of fearless love and connection to all around us.”
“Take It Personal” is on view at the West Tisbury library through August 31; reception on Saturday, August 10, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm.