Jerusalem during the Gaza War - January 2009

Woman Praying at the Wailing Wall
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Jerusalem, Israel
January 2009

What is she praying for? Is her loved one at the border of Gaza? Or is she praying that Israel realize what it is doing to the Palestinians?





Arab man walking away and the boy with the phone
Marie-Theresa Hernandez
Jerusalem - the Wailing Wall
January 2009

The older man is the only Arab I see. The rest of the men have their yamaka's on. What is he walking away from at the Wailing Wall? What is he thinking now that Gaza is being obliterated?


Jose Alberto in East Jerusalem
by Marie-Theresa Hernández
East Jerusalem
January 2009

Jose Alberto Tavim is having a cup of coffee in East Jerusalem. It is a calm moment. There are no soldiers nearby. We cannot see the wall from where we sit. I had pomegranate juice. It was wonderful. His coffee did not taste good.

© Photos and Text
Copyright 2009 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Vierge Noir - Dark Virgin

Vierge Noir - Dark Virgin I
Marie-Theresa Hernandez
Rocamadour, France
June 2008

The dark virgin of Rocamadour appeared, along with her scores of sisters, in the 12th century. She sits majestically on her throne, with the child at her knee. She is black and made of cedar. Some say her presence tells of a past with the Knights Templar - others say she signals that her followers practiced alchemy and still others say she is kin to Isis.








Vierge Noir - Dark Virgin II
Marie-Theresa Hernandez
Rocamadour, France
June 2008

She and the child look directly ahead. She was created before they made Virgin Mary's with their heads bowed. Her ancestors are the Druids.

© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

The African Journey

untitled
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Lisbon
December, 2007


At the ocean, near Lisbon. Earlier in the day group of us found ourselves in a rally for Omar Kaddafi in downtown Lisbon. We thought we were going to a conference on African immigration. But Kaddafi's people had other plans. We made a joke of things - and ran around the beach taking pictures of each other.

© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

American Tradition

untitled
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Lakeport, CA
May 17, 2008



The color, the make-up, the shiny dresses. An American tradition - dress your friends alike so they can watch you while you marry - like mannequins waiting to be moved to the front store window -

© Photo and Text
Copyright 2008 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Lost Statue

Santo Niño de Atocha in the Sanctuario de Chimayo
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Chimayo, New Mexico
1992


This photograph was taken inside the Santuario de Chimayo. The small statue had been there for hundreds of years. When I returned in 2001 I was told the statue had "broken" and was replaced by another that had little resemblance to the original.

© Photo and Text
Copyright 2008 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Aesthetics of Death

The Gate on the Boulevard
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Sugar Land TX
2004




Leaning Virgin
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Sugar Land, TX
2003





Gravestones and Small Statues
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Sugar Land, TX
2003



Virgin and the Beetle
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Sugar Land, TX
2004

The cemetery is for laborers who worked for Imperial Sugar (and their direct descendants). I used to go there when I was a little girl and distinctly remember a water pump with a handle. I used to move it back and forth for what seemed to be hours, and only trickles of water would come out. It was probably my small size because the adults around me could always get the water to flow from the water pump. When I began research on the book, I did not realize just how old it was.
I first thought it was from the early 20th century. It now appears that the cemetery was for slaves from a pre-civil war plantation.

The book is titled "Cemeteries of Ambivalent Desire: Narratives of the Deep South in a Southeast Texas Graveyard"
to be published by Texas A&M University Press. Release date winter 2008.







© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Fountain

Fountain
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Mudejar Courtyard
Monasterio de Guadalupe
Guadalupe, Spain
May, 2006



It invites the viewer to touch the tiles. While I stood in front of it, I felt pulled back in time. I wanted to feel the grooves that were worn down by use. I could almost see the monks sitting around the fountain, washing themselves. I am not sure it was used for this, but its construction would make it possible for someone to sit at the base and soak his feet.

The monastery was founded in 1350. The fountain is most probably from the 16th century. The name "mudejar" suggests an Arab influence.



© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.