Almudena López Calafate is no hoarder, but she doesn’t like to throw things in the bin unnecessarily. The red roses on her bedroom dressing cabinet were from her then boyfriend – a gift given with love – and she had held on to them even once they had wilted. The stylist, who hails from Spain, was getting dressed one morning and was drawn by the contrast of her yellow skirt against the muted trinkets.
“On the right is an old photo of my mum in the 70s,” she says, “and to the left are stones I found on the beach, amulets, perfume bottles. The only thing I repositioned is the rose reflected in the handheld mirror. I love reflections; they make me think of Alice in Wonderland, of mystery and distortion.”
López Calafate used the VSCO app to capture and edit the photo, adding a little bit of noise and some brightness. She is camera-shy, so was pleased with her confidence in sharing the image: she describes it as a self-portrait.
“I’m showing you a part of my life, of my world. You can understand a lot about me by looking at this photograph, without seeing my face.”
She doesn’t see anything sexual about the photo, despite her partial nudity. “Just as the flower is part of nature, so is my body.”
