Series 2 : Nattie. Featuring Chelsea Von Chastity as Nattie. Photography and Concept by Porsche Jones.
This is the second series of photos that undertakes an interpretation of selected entries from Craigslist "Missed Connections." These entries were all selected from the New Hampshire Craigslist within a three week timeperiod.
A major facet of the Missed Connections project is the possibility that all the entries could have been written to the same person. These are ambiguous, praised-filled tales from anonymous writers, directed at mysterious characters who may be partially real and partially constructed of fantasy. They are stories of encounters; brief, ecstatic encounters that the writer is desperate to repeat. They are a form of gospel, a testimonial, ritually recreated in the series of photographs presented.
The photographs are obscured and sidelong. They are from the perspective of the would-be connector who is Missing the Connection. We have only hints about this person or character being described: she shops at Bullmoose, attends college, reads the paper at Starbucks, cross-dresses at Kareoke, and has a part time job as a freelance exotic dancer. Series 2 stretches the basic assumption of the project even further: could this possibly be one person? Could she be Michelle, Maria, and Nathaniel? Is it plausible that she'd give a fake name on a chance encounter at a bookstore - or to a client while stripping? I think yes and no - yes because people are complex and because one person could easily play all of these roles in the right circumstances (as did model Chelsea Von Chastity quite effortlessly). But no, this is not one person, it is the projected fantasies of many people - many writers - all searching for the same lost muse.