love in lace
models: kailey sedlacek & Emma mansfield
creative directed and shot by maia feruzi
monday june 30th 2025 6pm
📍ravenswood, Chicago, il
shot on canon eos rebel t3i 18-24mm, 70-300mm
concept
The inspiration for this shoot was a viral makeup look that utilized lace laid over the face and makeup painted on top. Kailey took it a step further by actually cutting up the lace and pasting it to her and Emma’s face in a patchwork design, leaving the eyes open and doing some makeup on top of it. I actually loved this interpretation so much better as it allowed for more drama and emotion to be displayed in their faces. We shot this in my living room and bathroom preferring to use a combination of natural light and flash that was back lit with red lighting. The finished product was so different than what I’d envisioned and I love it more than I thought. It was also interesting shooting with two people, something normally difficult but came surprisingly easy this time.
Because Emma and Kailey are a couple or something akin to it in real life, that helped me capture true intimacy between them and the chemistry showed up on camera. From the touches, to the gazes, to the way their bodies naturally folded into one another; it was something to see real love(in any capacity) show up so naturally in my shots. I heavily posed the two for this shoot which is something I typically stray away from but I had a lot of ideas for this shoot. Despite the origin concept being quite simple, the more I photographed them the more meaning I found in the images I was creating and the way I was posing them. I wanted to highlight symmetry, asymmetry, and interwoven bodies. I wanted it to feel jarring and complex but sexy and simple. There is something to be said about the meaning of a mask, particularly one in lace, and then covered with makeup. Queer folk in society often use makeup as both shield and sword. Women in society need to be taught nothing about the effects of the beauty industry on their concept of self worth. I’m not entirely sure what it is I’m trying to say with this work, something to do with fragility and escape into love. Either way, these images really make me feel something and inspire conversation which is the whole point of my art.
If I was truly to assign meaning to this shoot, it would be something like in a world so ready to tear you apart, love is what holds us together. Love dissolves all masks in favor for the soul beneath. The hands pressed to their faces(quite literally holding their lace up) as a symbol for how love of all kinds holds us together and molds us into stronger more beautiful versions of ourselves. It being a queer love is a statement as well to it’s resilience particularly in an American climate, which ties into makeup and the way makeup has been so identity affirming for queer folk even when it serves as a mask. The lace coverings resemble nun shrouds and add in an element of religion that I could analyze for hours. Mind you, all this meaning in the art was discovered after the fact. While I was creating it, there really was no deeper meaning on my mind. After finishing and stepping back to look at my finished work, I feel like a message was channeled through me. And if I didn’t want to assign meaning to it, it’s a fun indie angsty moody little piece of work made in my apartment. With and without I still am extremely pleased with the finished product.
