Lady Time 時間夫人 レディタイム

"Così mi sussurra,la voce dell' orologio nel tempo incatenato...Io Sono l'eternità nel Tuo Tempo di Vita...Tu eri passato,sei presente,sarai futuro.Ti appartengo io scorro con te al tuo fianco.

Nessun attimo è perso... quando lo hai dedicato a ciò che hai Amato...Creduto e Creato...

Thus whispers the voice of the clock, within the confines of time: "I am eternity in your lifetime... You were the past, you are the present, you will be the future. I belong to you; I flow alongside you. No moment is lost... when you have dedicated it to what you have loved... believed in... and created..." - Mary Cosmica

In the shadowed passageways of the Venice Carnevale, Lady Time appears almost like a figure who has stepped out from another century—a mysterious keeper of memories, secrets and moments already lost.

Dressed almost entirely in black, Lady Time is enveloped by layers of embroidered fabric and translucent veils. Her extraordinary headdress expands into a sweeping architectural silhouette, surrounding her like a dark halo. Across her face, delicate silver chains fall in intricate loops, forming an unconventional mask that simultaneously reveals and conceals. Metallic bracelets, rings and ornaments emerge from the darkness, catching the light like tiny fragments of time.

The name Lady Time gives the costume an especially evocative dimension. Time itself is invisible, yet its presence surrounds everything. Here, the flowing veil can be imagined as the passage of years, while the interlocking chains suggest moments connected endlessly to those that came before. Even the unexpected strand of softly coloured hair becomes a reminder that something vivid and personal can survive within the darkness of memory.

For this series, I photographed the character against an almost completely black background, allowing much of the costume to dissolve naturally into shadow. Rather than illuminating every detail, the portraits reveal only selected elements—the face behind the veil, the glimmer of silver, an embroidered collar, a raised hand. What remains unseen becomes as important as what is visible.

Each portrait presents a different aspect of Lady Time. In one she gazes upward, seemingly searching beyond the present moment. In another she confronts us directly from behind her veil. And in the final image, her lowered gaze and hand drawn towards her face create a quieter, more introspective presence.

There is an appropriate symbolism in photographing Lady Time at the Venice Carnevale. Venice itself is a city where past and present seem permanently intertwined. Centuries-old palaces, narrow streets and traditions provide a stage upon which characters from imagination can briefly come alive.

For a few fleeting moments, Lady Time emerges from the darkness.

Then, like the Carnevale itself, she disappears—leaving behind only the photograph, the memory, and the reminder that time never stops, even when an image allows us to hold a single moment forever.

Mary Cosmica is a veteran costumer and a true artist at the Venice Carnevale. Her costumes are always very different and I enjoy meeting up with her and photographing her every Venice Carnevale.

The Venice Carnevale is not solely about masks. Local Italians and an increasing number of foreign costumers now prefer historical and non masked costumes or painted faces. During Carnevale, the whole Venice becomes a real life theatrical stage, and many of these non masked costumes carry deep perspectives...

The portraits were done on the busy streets of Venice during the Venice Carnevale, and as always, using only natural lighting.

This, is the real Venice Carnevale...