Karenann Sinocchi is a petite woman with big brown eyes and a warm smile. Upon first meeting her, it’s hard to
imagine that such a seemingly innocuous individual could produce such piquant portraits. But her photographs,
which are currently on display at Maxwell’s (1039 Washington St., Hoboken), are dark and striking.
Like the celebrated artist Cindy Sherman, Sinocchi takes a directorial approach to photography. With titles like
“Devil’s Playground,” and “Remains of the Day,” she uses models placed in carefully composed film-like sets to
represent her own reality rather than capturing the reality of the outer world.
“This style of photography is the closest thing to making a movie, except that it is a still image,” Sinocchi recently
explained. “I meticulously plan out everything.”
It hasn’t always been this way. Originally from Lincoln Park, N.J., Sinocchi’s interest in photography began when
she was a student at William Paterson University. Her early works are black and white nature shots. Three years
ago she abandoned the outdoors.
“I wanted to express something that was closer to matters of the heart,” said Sinocchi. “My current style of work
serves more of a purpose. It is conceptually based and deals strictly with matter of the self through personal
experience. Yet it evokes universal impulses.”
One of the most prominent features of her work is the conspicuous absence of the face.
“The face isn’t very important to me,” said Sinocchi. “People are naturally drawn to looking at the face and that’s
not what I’m focusing on. What I need to say through photography I can do through the body and the
surroundings. The face adds another element.”
Unlike some photographers, Sinocchi isn’t afraid to step in front of the camera.
“Sometimes I use my own body,” she said. “It depends on the circumstance. If I can evoke what I’m trying to say
using my body, I will.”
Even if Sinocchi doesn’t consistently incorporate her own image into her work, she still believes all artwork is a
self-portrait.
“All of this comes from direct personal experience or my personal philosophy,” she said. “And it’s nice because
when I do put it down on paper, I’m looking at my own reflection, and seeing what shapes me.”
While Sinocchi was hesitant to talk in detail about her specific motivation – “I don’t like to talk about where my
work comes from. I enjoy leaving it as an enigma for the viewer” – she did offer some helpful words to explain her
distinctively moody piece ” Devil’s Playground.”
“Several years ago I lived in a partially vacant building in Paterson,” she said. “It was a very bohemian existence in
the true sense of the word. I felt like I was living in the belly of a whale. It was very dark. And then I broke free.”
But for the most part, Sinocchi likes to let her photographs speak for themselves.
“I speak the visual language,” she said. “When people ask me ‘Why?’ or ‘How?’ I’m like, ‘You don’t need to know that.'”
Karenann Sinocchi’s photographs will be on display at Maxwell’s through Friday, July 28.
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