Von Sarosdy’s un-dappled meadows, strapping farmers and buxom milkmaids artfully posed in surreal alpine landscapes are at once idyllic and provocative. Exceedingly lavish and yet ironic, Anne-Marie von Sarosdy illustrates the manifold, complex and often ambivalent feelings connected with the term “homeland.” Her picturesque epics give new life to subconscious dreams. As such, they relate to the current and very powerful tendency to occupy own, readily comprehensible spaces. Evoking childhood memories and fairytales, this technically accomplished photographer consciously plays with the conventions of kitsch. Realer than real, sweeter than sweet, these images capture our deepest longings. Everything is as it should be and reveals more about our hidden desires than we generally would like to admit. For love, for home, and—most poignantly, perhaps—our impossible quest for perfection. Acutely aware of the irony in her work, von Sarosdy uses homespun iconography to probe what it is we truly desire. Kitsch, art, day dreams: These photographs apply to all of the three—with a wink. They are fun. And yet, they are also slightly eerie.
AAnne-Marie von Sarosdy holds a Master of Science degree from the Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara and works as a freelance fashion and advertising photographer in Dusseldorf, Germany. Her work has been presented in numerous magazines, art books, and exhibitions.
