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Six young adults became each other’s closest confidants in a new country, and, as their trusted outsider, I found it necessary to record moments from their first few months together. The quick closeness between my subjects and myself sparked a desire to document parts of their lives that I might otherwise never witness, and that they may not think of collecting themselves. 

Their openness—both in letting me into their daily lives and in participating in the project—offers a rare, intimate perspective on a first year in Paris. As the work developed, each “duckling” naturally embodied a classic archetype, the kinds of characters we recognize from childhood cartoons and movies like The Breakfast Club. These recognizable clichés become a visual framework, giving me a way to distill their personalities through each image and create a faux story based on reality. 

The initial shoot became a chance to amplify these characterizations, revealing the roles each slips into when their identities are simplified to their most iconic traits. However, as time went on, more similarities became clear among the group, down to their childhood stuffed animals kept on their beds. The project is ultimately a portrait of trust, transition, and the formation of identity in a new place—viewed through the lens of both familiarity or friendship, and fiction. The included stills are collected and compiled, based on a true story.