SATT Album cover

[Aestivate]

Having the 2005 book that the pictures came from "Monika Monster, Future First Woman On Mars" by Valerie Phillips I can tell you the following.

The book is the 2nd study of Monika (not her real name, but a nickname) the first being I Want To Be An Astronaut.

They're not staged photos but real reflections of Monika's life.

The other person in the pictures is her cousin Kate.

They dress to match the occasion, be it Christmas, Halloween or a thunderstorm.

Monika lives in Brooklyn, worked as a lifeguard and wants to be an astronaut.

In Valerie's words "Monika is now 22. She studies advanced math and science and astronomy at Stony Brook, a college she chose because it is one of the few with an astrophysics program. She looks less like a Polish schoolgirl, but just as much like a cat. In other ways she hasn't changed either - she still has the same self-possesion and calm. It's strange. Even at times of great silliness, or hilarity, or chaos, or upset, there is an odd tranquillity that never seems to leave her."

When asked "Do photographs tell the truth?" Monika's reply is "Mmm-hmmm. Yes. They do. Because they're real. Like, out of real contexts, situations. You know the photographs you see in magazines? They're very fake. There's make-up and different sceneries. And hers do tell the truth." Do they tell the truth about you "(quitely) Yes. I think so."