Nirvana

©JMG

once upon a time there was a little girl. surrounded in a world of the ending of an era. drugs and rock and roll ruled the world, mixed with greed and money or the lack there of.

in a little town called altus, OK, my parents created a band aptly named Nirvana. in the bliss of their new family, great friends and mind-fucked merriment they played hard.  i found the original candace sized t-shirt baring the band name, circa 1980.  faded from its original golden hue, worn well in the days before my excessive wardrobe.   the band broke up shortly after but somehow the shirt still fits, relatively speaking.  the memories from those days i 've constructed from the stories i heard.  mom and dad tend to revel in the long gone days, when life was simple and they were young.  not being much of a story teller myself, i relish in those memories and treasure them as being part of what made me who i am today.

a few months ago, a new friend gave me a t-shirt.  same name, entirely different, far more recognizable band from Seattle.  it wasn't until after the craze of the Nirvana fanaticism and the days of grunge that i could listen to Kurt Cobain and his band and truly appreciate their music.  mom and dad,  in their lame attempts at stardom could not come close to the lyrical genius and musical prowess of the second coming.

so with the new shirt, a bit oversized and without the attached memories, hanging off my body in sharp contrast to the teeny one from long ago, i had an idea.   pairing the two, the story comes full circle.

i wanted to capture the shirts with their inherent stories on film.  one photographer came to mind.   A music aficionado and fantastic story teller, James Graham brought his film, cameras, his lighting mixed with JMG magic and the wine.  he captured my intent as well as creating yet another story of his own.

"I need an easy friend
I do, With an ear to lend
I do, Think you fit this shoe
I do, But DO you have a clue?"


"about a girl" off of Bleach- Kurt Cobain