what’s mine is yours - basta valentines book
this valentine’s day, we asked people to bring an object they love, are infatuated with, or were even possibly attracted to.
they brought ballet flats that give them blisters. five tiny figurines from their mom after a bad breakup. a 15-year-old muppet. a four-leaf clover from elementary school. pink soccer cleats. a camera that documented a grandmother’s home before it was torn down. sometimes love isn’t in the air at all, but it’s in our pockets, around our necks, kept on our mirrors, or tucked in our drawers.
with <3, basta
shot by hannah la follette ryan, who sees objects, faces, and hands like nobody else.
they brought ballet flats that give them blisters. five tiny figurines from their mom after a bad breakup. a 15-year-old muppet. a four-leaf clover from elementary school. pink soccer cleats. a camera that documented a grandmother’s home before it was torn down. sometimes love isn’t in the air at all, but it’s in our pockets, around our necks, kept on our mirrors, or tucked in our drawers.
with <3, basta
shot by hannah la follette ryan, who sees objects, faces, and hands like nobody else.
I bought my Repetto ballerinas on a filmy July day in Paris. I’m very drawn to them, though I rarely wear them because of their great ability to produce welts on my heels. A common tension in love.
My object is a navy blue Smythson notebook my mom gave me for Christmas. It has my initials on it and it's the perfect size to carry around in my everyday bag. I love writing in it with my Great Jones Spa pen (iykyk).
I’ve had my muppet for over 15 years. I customized her at the Muppet Workshop at FAO Schwarz when I was a kid. Now that I’m all grown up, I think she’s the butch version of me.
Das ist ein Siegelring. Mein Bruder hat den gleichen.
Every piece holds a remembrance of my family, whom I miss very much. It’s the intercultural blend that makes it so sentimental and sacred. Here I have jewelry passed down from grandparents in Mazatlan Sinaloa, devoted Catholics who gifted me pearls to symbolize purity and angels to protect me. Then, a picture of my Jewish grandfather from NY. I call him TaTa and he makes me laugh like no other, here he is smiling at Hells Gate Bridge NY.
My little wicker chest is where I keep all my past mementos, trinkets, and gifts from previous relationships, both romantic and platonic. It has everything in there, like a lock of an ex-boyfriend’s hair tied in a ribbon, old photobooth strips, handwritten letters, and even a medieval carving knife — I’m an incredibly sentimental person and I could just never part with such tender, intimate items that were these grand expressions or declarations of admiration at one point in my life. I like going through it when I need to remember that love is an eternal thing, and being able to hold that evidence in my hands is deeply grounding.
I’m not exactly sure how it started, but my grandma and I had an inside joke where we would moo at each other instead of saying hello, especially when we called. It always made her laugh. Years ago, I found this at a 99¢ store and gifted it to her. After she passed, I inherited it.
I’ve revolved my career around preserving analog filmmaking through my own work and by platforming other artists through my screening series Reflex 72, and this camera was the catalyst that deepened my relationship with the medium. It began as a tool I used to document my relationship with my grandmother, Meriban, and her home in Tirana, Albania, but evolved once receiving news that her home would be torn down as a result of the city’s rapid modernization. This camera went from documenting the woman I love most in the space she loves most to memorializing an impermanent home, holding its memory, intimacy, and emotional architecture against erasure and preserving it in celluloid.
This is a picture of me and my girlfriend, Kayla. She’s my favorite person in the world. I love her!
Pink soccer cleats - soccer’s the hottest sport <33333
My dear friend Alexia Towle is a talented visual artist and for my birthday last year she drew me as Joan of Arc. Now, anyone who knows me well enough knows that I have an obsession with Joan of Arc. Yes she's cool, and wears armor, and Zendaya dressed as her for the Met Gala that one year - which was objectively fire. But for me, the Joan of Arc obsession goes so much deeper. I remember reading every single book I could find about her in elementary school, looking at all her paintings, and wishing I could also ride a horse and...save France, I guess...? But no seriously, her story inspires loyalty, bravery, kindness, and leadership in a way that I hope my character can continue striving to reflect. So, this birthday card that Alexia made for me felt like such a deep cut. And it is one of my most prized possessions because even in a simple birthday card, I felt so understood by this friend that I love so much. The birthday card actually stays on my mirror, and it is a reminder not only of how loved and seen I am by this dear friend, but also of the qualities that I hope to keep emulating every day in my life. Oh, and Alexia also drew me as Anne Boleyn, which is a whole other tangent. Don't get me started.
Pennies remind me of my mother who, for my whole childhood, insisted I pick up every penny I find and put it in my shoe. Some of the most auspicious moments of my life have been preceded by shiny pennies I find on the ground, heads up.
I brought a chess piece because my dad taught me to play chess when I was little, just like my grandpop also taught him & it turned into a little inter-generational lesson. As time passes, it’s cute how we learn each other’s styles and memorize each other’s favorite moves. Also, I chose the queen, out of all the pieces, because she’s obviously the most badass & that’s the energy we all need to carry ;)
My item is a cd Walkman I bought my sophomore year of high school. I’ve slowly grown a collection of burnt cds with albums, mixes and some of my own songs... every song I’ve ever burnt reminds me of the things and people and places I love.
My object is an heirloom necklace with a K on it from my grandmother. It was meant for my great grandma who I had the opportunity of meeting once, but she passed away before she could wear it. I wear it every day
I bought this plastic wand as part of a halloween costume with my partner at the time. It is a testament to whimsy, and the play that the people I love bring to me.
My friend Luna carries a deck of cards with her so we can play together at restaurants and cafés. She lives in San Francisco. I miss her very much.
I brought Lambie who is part of a pair of twin stuffed lambs who own the purest and most innocent form of my love. Lambie is the lamb who is still whole so I can bring her out of my home. The twin, Nanny, has been loved since the day I was born and bears the evidence of that love by being too delicate to leave my bed.
My love of ribbon was something that I adopted from my mom. I use ribbon motifs throughout my paintings and sculptures, and they have ties to my girlhood and people that I love. These three beautiful ribbons that were gifted to me by two of my close friends and my mom.
I brought my little four leaf clover because it was something my best friend in elementary school gave me, that I still treasure to this day. I was worried about something and she so generously gave me her lucky charm without any hesitation. We naturally parted ways as people do sometimes but I still think about her a lot, and love her, and appreciate her lucky charm.
when i moved to new york i gave my best friend back home a matching little house so it could feel like we still lived near eachother and were watching over one another from our little houses