TITLE: The Keeper of Silence

It explores the delicate relationship between power, wisdom, and the unspoken. This portrait reimagines the traditional concept of authority by presenting an elderly woman adorned in ceremonial regalia that draws from historical iconography while existing outside specific time or culture.
The ornate headdress, reminiscent of sacred crowns and halos from various traditions, creates a visual framework that elevates the subject beyond the ordinary. Yet the power conveyed is not that of domination or force, but of knowing restraint—embodied in the deliberate gesture of finger to lips. This universal symbol of silence transforms the portrait from mere documentation into a meditation on the value of what remains unsaid.
The high-contrast black and white treatment strips away the distraction of color, focusing attention on the interplay of light across textures—the smooth skin marked by time, the intricate patterns of the headdress, the delicate lacework of the garment. These textural contrasts echo the thematic tensions between revelation and concealment, decoration and essence, youth and age.
I chose to photograph an elderly subject to challenge conventional associations of power and beauty with youth. The lines etched into her face become a map of experience that earns her the authority to command silence. Her gaze directly confronts the viewer, establishing a relationship that feels simultaneously intimate and distant—we are invited to look closely while being reminded that some knowledge remains inaccessible.
The dramatic lighting emerges from darkness, suggesting the emergence of clarity from mystery. This visual approach mirrors how wisdom often appears—not as blinding illumination but as selective revelation against a background of acknowledged unknowing.
In our era of constant noise and performative sharing, this image offers a counterpoint: a celebration of deliberately held silence, the power of withholding, and the authority that comes not from speaking but from knowing when speech itself becomes insufficient.

AUTHOR: Marta Losiewicz (Poland)

Hi, My name is Marta and I'm a passionate, fine art photographer.
Photography has been with me for my whole life. Together with music and painting it allowed me to express myself.