SEGRETTO
ESTER MARIA
Photo by Ebru Yildiz
I’m a New York City born and raised photographer, historical fiction author, artist, and memory collector. I’m also the founder of the independent publishing imprint, Bonarma Press.
As a first generation Italian American my work is often centered around themes of identity, ancestral remembering, political resistance, and the shadowy parts of life.
Bonarma Threads
Inspired by history, folklore, culture, mythology, rage, resistance
Introducing Bonarma Threads, my new line of statement t-shirts and accessories. I’ve created these pieces as reflections of identity, rememberance, resistance, hope and despair in the face of our current landscape. These are the t-shirts I used to wish existed; so I designed them myself.
Books
My debut novel, Born of Earthquake and Volcano is out now.Stella Fiorinelli is the daughter of Italian immigrants living in New York City. She considers herself a progressive and enlightened woman, but her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a mysterious and disturbing photo in her father’s armoire.
He dies before he can explain it, and to find the answers she longs for, Stella goes down a dark rabbit hole of grief and ancestral discoveries. Her journey takes her back to WWII Italy and the early lives of her parents—Maria, a precocious young girl in Sicily, and Domenico, a brooding boy in Abruzzo.
Stella soon realizes she may not have known as much about her family as she thought, and the lines between the old world of her ancestors and the present and between the fraught political landscapes of then and now become blurred.
Standing at the threshold of assimilation and reclamation, will she find the answers she’s so desperately seeking before she loses herself?
Born of Earthquake and Volcano is a multi-generational tale of dreams deferred, inherited trauma, the long shadow of the past, and a reckoning with truth.
Photography
I’m a New York City based photographer who has specialized in live music, portrait, and event photography for over a decade. I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography from School of Visual Arts in New York City.
I’m available for documenting concerts and events, creating press photos, brand and lifestyle images, and a wide variety of portrait commisions.
Contact estersegrettophoto@gmail.com if you're interested in inquiring about rates, arranging a shoot or to discuss usage of photos.
From dive bars to Arenas, house pARTIES TO GALAS—I capture IT ALL.