Rejuvenate

The face painting of this woman who is a member of the Turi tribe in Ethiopia is so distinct. When I made the image, I recall being struck by the twig-like pattern echoing across her skin. Her eyes, which to me expressed thoughtfulness and gentle curiosity, hinted at an active, lively mind at work behind the skin’s surface. Her posture, so regal and calm, was undeniably powerful. Viewed on the small screen of a mobile device, the impression remains. Enlarged in a print, her compelling spirit is amplified, accessible, profound, feminine.

In parts of Ethiopia, the people’s connection and response to their surroundings were intimate. I saw reflections of their surroundings in their choices about skin decorations and other adornments. The pattern on her face resembles nearby brush and branches—or maybe the markings are meant to mirror chicken feet imprints in the dirt? And certainly, the colors used to make the paint on her face came from pigments of the earth and perhaps from fruits or other plants.

In urban environments, people remove themselves from the land; wearing shoes, applying man-made products produced in sterile laboratories to their skin, traveling inside cars, trains, planes. In contrast, the nomadic Turi tribe moves across the land barefoot, literally wears the earth upon their skin, and fashions jewelry and most of their tools from wood, stone, and other natural elements. Were we living in cities and towns to shave our heads, paint our faces, and kick off our footwear, I’m not certain we’d possess the same regality. But perhaps the very idea is enough to cause laughter and, in doing so, rejuvenate one’s spirit.