In Portrait of a Theydy who just really wants a Lacroix, I wanted to create a piece about my partner, J, who was moving to Paris.

For this piece, I decided to arrange a few items that are iconic to J’s image as well as other elements of symbolism that express my way of seeing them. This includes their signature “Trust Me I’m a Doctor” t-shirt, crochet bag, ~ Margiela ~Tabis, Lacroix & cold brew - half sweet, oat milk - from Hopscotch; where they’ve spent most of their days researching and typing away at their computer.

Through this piece, I hoped to recreate an image of them in the phase of their life that I met them during. This is what I call their “Blue” era, which was a love for the color blue inspired by the book “Bluets” by Maggie Nelson. A quote from this book reads “to find oneself trapped in any bead, no matter the hue, can be deadly”. Their move to Paris signifies their need to figure out what other hues the world has in store for them.

When I first saw their apartment, I immediately noticed a long propagation plant that has since been cut back, but reminds me of how resilient they are in allowing themself to replant and grow in a new place. The one remaining stem of leaves shows the connections they are leaving behind that they continue to tend to from across the world. I now have this plant in my home.