TARA WILKINSON I VORTEX
Fine Art Photographic Portraits

---

When I embarked on this project (unlike any I’ve done before), my inspiration was Canadian musician Astrid Young herself … and this magical place we both call home: Prince Edward County.
 
A strong, creative, talented, resilient woman … Astrid’s life journey took many twists and turns before eventually bringing her to the County 24 years ago. It was on her first visit that a recurring adult dream about driving through a forest and discovering a white sand beach came true.
 
Over the past two decades, Astrid has become a pillar of the local arts and hospitality scene, with deep roots in the wine and music industries. She is widely known and respected for her multifaceted career and community advocacy.
 
We both believe Prince Edward County to be a special earth energy site … a Vortex … that draws the creative and the curious to its core. Andrew and I felt it the minute we crossed into the County in 2007 while on a Sunday drive from Toronto. We moved here with our young daughter soon after to ramp up our creative life … and we’ve never looked back.
 
Feminine-centric in the approach to all of my creative work, I was inspired for this project to shoot portraits of strong, creative, talented, resilient women who, like Astrid, moved here from elsewhere to make the County their home and community.

​Through individual portrait sessions, these six women shared their life stories - and the many sides of their County persona (with the help of pre-planned clothing and props).

My personal goal was to truly “see”, honour and celebrate each of these unique women. To my surprise, the resulting portraits (just a small sampling are exhibited here) achieved far more than expected.

I often heard self-deprecating remarks throughout the sessions … but upon seeing the resulting photographs for the first time, one remarked “It’s like you’ve held up a mirror to show us the beauty we cannot see”.

During our conversations about the project, each of the women shared that they were drawn to the County by the beautiful landscapes, the creative energy … and community of pioneers where it feels like “anything is possible”.
 
I recently read that over the past 200 years, it has taken 127 couples to create each one of us. I am fascinated by the decisions and the journeys that each of these couples must have made that resulted in us living here in the County now … at this time in history. There are no coincidences.
                                                                                             Tara Wilkinson

---

Click on any image below to see each VORTEX Portrait Collection.
​
To purchase available works, please contact ANDARA Gallery.
All photographs © Tara Wilkinson

ASTRID

NADIA

JILL

PAULINE

MARY ANN

RISA

ABOUT ASTRID YOUNG

Astrid Young is a singer-songwriter-musician with influences that range from classical to heavy rock, with a healthy dose of blues and country in between. Playing music since she was able to walk, she likes to say, “Know my music, and you’ll know me.”

Astrid’s discography dates back to 1984. She’s played and sang on more than forty releases, some her own, but most as a side musician or back-up singer. She has been in a lot of rock bands, and her solo acoustic shows have been compared to “Alice in Chains Unplugged.”

Astrid has played stages large and small all over the world. Her early influences were classical – Rimsky-Korsakov-Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Beethoven … which evolved into Black Sabbath, Kate Bush, David Bowie, and others. She loves texture and feeling, stating, “Music changes everything. It’s a living, breathing art form that allows me to paint with sound and communicate what’s in my head without saying a word, although there are plenty of well-chosen words to punctuate those sonic thoughts.” Astrid plays piano, bass, and 12-string guitar (some say like a weapon).

She has released five solo albums: Brainflower, Matinee, Pokalolo Paniolo (as iST), One Night at Giant Rock (produced by Victor DeLorenzo, an original Violent Femme), and her latest, The Beautiful Can Get Away With Murder, produced right here in the County by the legendary Eddie Kramer.
 
Contact: Astrid Young, Canadian Musician, Artist, Author, Sommelier - [email protected] / www.astridyoung.net

Portrait of Astrid Young © Tara Wilkinson, ANDARA Gallery

Thank You To Our Sponsors!

Please show them some love with your support

Thank You to our Prince Edward County Wine Sponsors!