Mat’s image is about his first girlfriend, Jen. Starting when he was sixteen, he went out with her for three and a half years. Decades later, she is married and has a kid, but they still remain close friends. Because she has known him for so long he doesn’t feel the need to be anybody other than himself with her. I was moved when Mat told me that in other relationships he has loved the woman, yet when the relationship ends they go their separate ways and no longer keep in touch. But Jen is there for him through thick and thin. This has taught Mat something about an enduring love which transcends romantic relationships.
One of the things that I like about this project is that it affords me a creative way to have conversations of greater depth with the people around me. Mat is my housemate and we will often talk about more mundane matters: utility bills, food, etc. But just taking the time to talk with him about Jen revealed another side that I don’t often see. I liked it.