Lorde is the patron saint of immortalizing the seemingly mundane. No moment for her is just fleeting happenstance, but rather a grandiose culmination of emotional turmoil, meticulously bold attempts at reconciliation, and acute self-awareness. It’s beautifully and entirely palpable in her music — she’s christened Melodrama as the distillation of her first adult experience, one of extreme romantic pain — but also in the way she carries herself, always with deep-seated elegance and poise. Even her tweets wax poetic, as evidenced by a thread she posted today after sharing a new portrait of herself painted by Sam McKinniss, the same artist that masterfully conjured up the iconic Melodrama album art (hang it in the Louvre).
The stunning painting is a striking recreation of a moody, pensive photo captured of Lorde mid-performance. “When this photo was taken, I was fragile, anxious; feeling raw and exposed in my practice, newly 21 and looking for a sign. I see all that and more here,” she explained about that specific moment.
Lorde is currently on tour in North America with openers Run The Jewels and Mitski. Check out McKinniss’ painting and the original reference photo below, along with the series of tweets posted by Lorde accompanying it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgDP4rvHEsn/?taken-by=lordemusic
https://twitter.com/lorde/status/971624360942256128
