Artist Portrait Photography
Actor Headshot Photography
SERIES: Catalogue of Objects acquired during my 12 days alone in Paris (and a weekend in London).
I have always struggled to part with things, even trash, that are connected to sentimental moments in my life. (I had a bag of burnt peanuts in my bedside table for over a decade that reminded me of my first boyfriend, no lie.) I have gotten a lot better at it, but objects hold great meaning as they are tangible relics of memory. My April 2019 solo trip to Europe was certainly a sentimental moment in my life and I am properly honoring the objects that filled it with this series. Some are now trash, some treasures, some are just normal shit. Maybe they tell a story, maybe they only do to me, but here they are anyway. (See below for descriptions.)
Two bottles of wine (white was bought from a corner store; red, from a fancy wine store on Île Sant-Louis) // vintage polyester button up shirt with toile de juoy pattern from Hippy Market in le Marais // pack of Gauloises cigarettes and lighter // leftover food in my Airbnb (3 cups citron yogurt, Milka chocolate bar, butter, orange super juice, cornichons pickles, purée vegetable soup, fig preserves, 1 egg, half a tomato, chamomile tea, box of leafy greens I can’t determine the name of, one butt of a baguette from the super market, one stub of olive bread leftover from my friend Lulu’s bar) // pair of vintage drop pearl earrings bought from Jeanne Danjou eta Rousselet on Île de la Cité // French anti-itch lotion bought for the poisonous plant rash I had all over my torso and chest during this time // Euros and Pounds // miscellaneous trash and train tickets // hyacinths from Marché des Enfants Rouges // 1€ water cup from the Louvre cafeteria featuring Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People // Ansley China English Garden vintage vase (present for me) and vintage pewter English Setter (present for dog obsessed boyfriend, John) // collection of pharmacy items from when I was sick (French to-go tissues, British Lemsip (best shit ever), medicated throat lozenges, Ricola and ibuprofen) // bottle opener from wine shop on Île Sant-Louis for an impromptu picnic on Seine // 1958 First Edition Lithograph of Henri Matisse’s work, “Spray of Leaves” purchased from seller at Le Puces de Saint Ouen // international power converter bought in a panic on day 1 from a random junk store when the one I had didn’t work with my laptop. a man in the shop asked me how long I was staying in Paris, I said, “2 weeks” and he said “that’s it?” // Twirl chocolate bar from Boots in London (my favorite) // keys to my Airbnb and a Monet lilies keychain from L’Orangerie bought at the D’Orsay gift shop // miscellaneous receipts // summer dress from Oysho // tickets and guides to Paris museums (Louvre, D’Orsay, L’Orangerie, Rodin, Pompidou, Maison Européenne de la Photographie) // assortment of shopping bags // 1940s vintage sweater from small shop in London // duck and orange pâté from Bobovino at Marché des Enfants Rouges // Mellow Yellow tall leather boots from the Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann shoe department and a polishing sponge sold to me by a hypnotizing saleswoman // a present
Self Portraits
for inquiries & rates, please email ellynjam@gmail.com