Melonie Bennett, Holy Cow!, 2026, Hardback, 176 pages, 66 images, 9 × 11 inches

MMPA Presents: The Holy Cow! Portfolio by Melonie Bennett

The Maine Museum of Photographic Arts (MMPA) is proud to exhibit Holy Cow!, a captivating book and portfolio by Melonie Bennett.  The monograph was published in May 2026 by GOST Books. Works from the Holy Cow! portfolio, along with the new book, will be on display at MMPA Gallery from August 7 through October 3, 2026.

Holy Cow! is an upcoming book that offers a playful yet poignant journey through 20 years of family photographs taken by Bennett between 1990 and 2011. These black-and-white images form an unconventional family album capturing rituals, traditions, dramas, laughter, gatherings, dogs, and drunken exploits, alongside quieter moments of reprieve. Together, they portray the rollercoaster of human life with honesty and warmth.

Bennett and her siblings grew up on a dairy farm and although the family lived under constant stress, they coped by laughing, eating, fighting then talking and pretending everything was okay. She has always been drawn to photograph the absurd and unexpected—a dog wearing cowboy boots, boys playing cards in bras, going home at 2am after a moose hunt, college kids streaking through the farmland and the juxtaposition of pregnant and beer bellies. Humour and irony were highly prized in the Bennett household, giving relief from a daunting heaviness. Intertwined with the photographs are recollections and stories by the photographer’s brother, Merritt.

‘This collection of photographs presents the world I know—the complicated, mad world that includes my father, mother, brother, sister, friends, dogs, babies, extended families and the stuff of life. There are no pictures of the land, only the landscape where they set themselves loose and live with their pleasures and troubles, and with themselves and each other.’

‘In high school, I was shy and naive. When my father spread manure in fields that bordered classmates’ homes, I wanted to be invisible. Being the oldest, I thought I had to behave. I never dared to party or skip school. It wasn’t even an option. My siblings sure made up for it—they were wild. But I found my groove. I took a high school darkroom class, at the same time that I took on the role as the designated driver for family and friends to parties. This gave me the license to observe and take pictures of what other people, including my family were doing. And I didn’t have to drink! What a gift from God.’ - M.B.

‘As photographing my family became more routine, Merritt thought it would be clever to start gifting me a single, unwrapped roll of film on these occasions. He would just laugh and say ‘that’s all you’re getting’—mocking me, my picture-taking and loving the ribbing he was doling out. But in fact, each time he had spent six bucks on me and had to make the effort to shop—this proved he loved me, right? I told him he should save his money and write down his stories as my gifts instead.' - M.B.