Petra Collins: STAR

Fictional popstars and their fans — in tales of love and dangerous obsession — inspired by 2000’s icons. Collins created two fictional music groups exclusively for this publication. Collins pulls themes of identity and mental health through this compellingly realistic but narrative fiction.

This book is a cinematic journey of the performers as seen through the eyes of their fans and stalkers, images of performances, rescues, and confrontations, interspersed with letters, conversations, and diary entries. The five chapters follow Ashley, a solo star, and Siren8, a teen idol group designed for bubblegum appeal. Ashley, once a quiet artistic student, is discovered at a school performance and pushed into pop stardom. She starts sincere and gentle, but fame twists her identity. Manipulated, isolated, and disassociated, she becomes a ghostlike figure to those who knew her before disappearing under mysterious circumstances. Siren8 contrasts with Ashley’s “dreamy-girl-next-door” image. They tour with Ashley before an unexplained falling-out. Vuyu, Ashley’s quiet, protective best friend, knew the real Ashley and reappears in anonymous forums to correct misinformation. Momo, a hardcore Ashley fan and obsessive researcher who created a viral timeline thread that’s a monument to Ashley’s erasure. B, a loner at Ashley’s school, fixates on Ashley as a symbol of truth. She writes dozens of letters, convinced she’s protecting Ashley, an obsession that slowly turns violent.

Petra Collins is a multi-talented artist and director whose photography set the stylistic tone for much of the 2010s. Shooting since the age of 15, her work is fueled by self-discovery and a contemporary femininity which explore the complex intersection of life as a young woman online and off. Collins weaves through the worlds of art, fashion, film, and music. She is working on her first feature film.