Ayse at home in Paris

Paris is a city of tremendous historical significance for the arts. Four times a year for a week and a half, residents of Paris are overtaken by frenzied photographers and pompous show-goers. The other 48 weeks are spent enjoying their absence.

Being fashionable in Paris is requisite. Beauty suffices as an end, it is a pursuit of many not exclusive to the creative classes. This sentiment is embedded in the quality of life, championed by the Ministry of Culture and upheld with pride by the people.

This photoshoot captures that unique and endearing heroism and adds an intimacy to it, carving out a moment in time where Aziza, a Turkish model and jewelry designer, poses as if waiting for a lover or a delivery. She acknowledges yet defies the camera, creating tension by challenging the viewer's intentions while inviting their attention.

Practically naked but for the sheer pale blue covering, she is inappropriately dressed. This is especially pronounced in Paris, which has the modest retenue of a Catholic nation. Between weather-worn doors ajar, she extends a subtle invitation to join her in her home.