Maja Daniels: Monette and Mady

“Through my interest in documenting the contemporary western world, I started considering the general lack of visual representations of issues related to older generations. As I found myself in this process, I met Mady and Monette.

Monette and Mady are identical twins. They have lived their whole life closely together and are, as they say, inseparable. I first saw them on the streets of Paris and I was instantly fascinated by their identical outfits and synchronized corporal language. Quirky and beautiful, they stood out from any crowd. As I couldn’t quite believe my eyes, I remember thinking that they might not be real.
When I approached them I was not surprised to discover that they often finish each other’s sentences and that they refer to themselves as « I » instead of « we ».

Neither Mady nor Monette have married or had children and they always eat the same kind of food in identical portions.
They do not just share a close relationship as sisters; as a couple they act, model and dance together and the city of Paris is their main stage. If they ever go out dressed in different outfits, people stop and ask why they argue.

Since a great part of Mady and Monette’s lives is about performing, in front of cameras or on a stage as well as on the street, this project consists of a mix of staged and documentary images.

The more staged photographs are alternated with pictures of the sisters interacting naturally as they go about their daily business. Since Mady and Monette are both eccentric yet very private people, this combination reflects their lives, particularly since it is not always obvious to tell the two approaches apart.

This addition of fiction makes for a dreamy atmosphere, a bit like a mirage that reflects my initial impression of them. The streets of Paris make the perfect backdrop for such ambiguity to be played out, confusing us with its references to fashion, film and art. It makes the documenting of everyday events somewhat surreal.

Sometimes Monette and Mady don’t quite understand why I want to document their everyday life. It is an interesting challenge for me to make them see how fascinated I am by this symbiotic existence that is so natural to them.

Mady and Monette are indifferent to the many stereotypes that are related to aging. They have in fact long stopped celebrating their birthdays and they defy any preconceived notions related to growing old.

This series is an intimate journal of their togetherness and as an alternative take on the complex issues that accompanies the notion of “aging” today, I aim to pursue this series over the years as Mady and Monette grow older.

Being born as an identical twin often raise questions about identity and intimacy. Most people search for a life-partner to share their life with and a big part of our identity is built around this condition. As we are confronted with the radically unique and viscerally embodied relationship of Mady and Monette, we are faced with feelings of fascination but also with distrust.
This project operates in this borderland. As we enter the game orchestrated by the sisters, this series attempts to play with notions of identity as we ask ourselves the question “is that the same person twice?”.”

Maja Daniel’s portrait series of Monette and Mady is a beautiful dipiction of their relationship, she has managed to capture them almost as though there is a mirror in each image. Something that has really stood out to me, though, is their interaction with their space, and with each other in each image. Daniels has captured them in a combination of domestic spaces, outside in their local area, and in spaces they dance together. The work feels staged and set up because of the way in which the twins interact with each other and their surroundings, it almost feels like a fashion shoot because of the way the pare present themselves in their every day life. This aspect really embodies their personality, and their attention to detail. I find it very interesting how the pare chose to present themselves in the same way, they have fully embraced their identical-ness and according to Daniels, even refer to themselves as ‘I’ instead of ‘we’ showing their unity, and how they view themselves as one. In tern, this has created an identity for them that is no longer twins, but one unit, almost the same person. Perhaps from an outsiders perspective this would appear as if they have lost part of their identity, however, it feels as though they have become each others identity, and this is not seen as a negative thing. For myself, I am very interested in the idea of identity in regards to siblings. I feel as though I lost my identity when growing up, and became ‘Rowans sister’ or ‘Jacks sister’ instead of being known as myself. My own approach to this experience was very different to those of Monette and Mady, and they embraced this identity.

I would like to use this work as inspiration towards an identity based shoot. I feel that it also talks to my previous work, inspired by Trish Morrissey, where I dressed as my oldest brother Rowan, and the way in which I took on his identity visually in a way to further explore our relationship. I would like to combine these ideas and make some work of all three of us, showing us as the same person, or in a vary similar way, to show this loss of/ combined identity.