ISSUE NO. 05: MARY FREY BY MARIO SORRENTI

I met Mary in 1997. I saw her standing in the crowd at a fashion show in New York City. It was an underground show for a group of artists called Bernadette Corporation. The moment I saw her, I fell in love. I guess you could say it was love at first sight.

I didn’t end up meeting her that day. I started asking around, hoping someone might know her and introduce us. Mary was already known among friends as an incredible artist, and I was told she had an art project—a snowball stand on Lafayette Street called GURU. About a month later, I finally met her there.

Mary was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 5, 1968. She moved to New York when she was 19 and has lived in the city ever since. We moved in together the week after our first date. A year later, in 1998, our son Arsun was born, and then in 2000, our daughter Gray.

We’ve now been together for 28 years. During that time she has been my partner in everything. Mary is a big part of my work, and I’ve been documenting her ever since we met. She has a sharp eye. She helps me edit photographs and develop ideas. Often she becomes my subject as we experiment and create new images together.

Time flies when you’re having fun. Somewhere along the way, without even realizing it, she became my muse. My partner. My love. — Mario Sorrenti