WHO’S YOUR LISA

AN INTERACTIVE DIGITAL EXHIBITION

The My Lisas Paintings Explore Relationships with Former Best Friends: Share Yours!

Coming-of-age friendships shape us, defined by intensity, vulnerability, and discovery. Formed during transitional moments, they offer deep connection, joy, and a sense of being truly seen. Yet, they are also marked by unspoken expectations and shifting priorities, sometimes fading naturally or ending abruptly, leaving nostalgia, guilt and unresolved emotions. 

My Lisas is a series of oil paintings that explore the exhilaration and melancholy of these friendships, capturing their lasting imprint on my identity and memory.

Who shaped you, and then slipped out of your life?

WHO’S YOUR LISA?

An art installation with a large wall filled with overlaid sticky notes and a prominent text paragraph explaining the concept of friendships and their impact. The display is titled 'WHO'S YOUR LISA?', referencing a series of oil paintings shown nearby, depicting a girl with long blonde hair, with one of the paintings featuring a figure with a questioning expression. The installation area includes a small table with markers and sticky notes, and the background shows visitors observing the exhibit.

  • Tacha - Why did you never tell me you had cancer? I never got to say goodbye...gone too soon

  • My Lisa died before we were able to reconcile. Twenty years of friendship, laughter, tears and a sad ending.

  • Amy. I was the new kid as a senior in HS. She was kind and funny. She went to Mexico - got inspired and lived on..

  • Her name was Nancy - I called her muffin. She provided me with bubble gum before every college exam. She made sure I was safe when I crossed the street. She disappeared.

  • Laurie was my best friend in middle school. She "dropped" me in high school.

  • Jenny - I don't know why you lied and I don't think I ever will, but I miss the good times.

  • Paula - You were so full of life and I will love you forever.

  • I was ghosted by my best JR High friend when she became Homecoming Queen in High School.

  • Anne Marie - A soft soul, a long friendship that ended in conflict.

  • A Friend I never actually knew and who was easier to lose than I imagined.

  • Jim - My best friend in high school, we lost contact. I then found out he passed 12 years ago.

  • Jill, My college roommate of all four years. We were like sisters and now we are not part of each others lives - no reason!

  • Lexi. A friend I let go of with her drug use but watched her struggle from afar. I still cheer for success quietly.

  • Alyssa - I wish you gave me closure

  • I could no longer be friends with someone who didn't tell full truths.

  • Madi - I could of been a better friend.

  • Vicki, I suspected we stopped being friends over a guy whom neither of us like anymore, but I never knew for sure.

  • Lauren... more than best friends who traded me away like an outdated, overworn pair of shoes. I hate how I miss her.

  • We both grew up poor. After college she married into wealth and status and left me behind during my breakdown.

  • Julie - you helped form me into the person I am now. 30 years later, I'm excited for our first dinner in all this time.

  • Amanda, I miss your wild, bold, unfiltered & loud spirit. I have a piece of you with me.

  • My middle school best friend Jennifer. You were absolutely right about Paramore.

  • Sarah was the most important person in my life. Last month I found a pic of us and tried to text it to her and number was disconnected.

  • Mandy, Can't save you when I couldn't save myself.

  • Jili, We were so close and you let a guy take over your life. Jaz and I are still great tho...

  • Zöe, You were my everything! I still miss you and am still mad at you. You broke my heart but I still miss you.

  • My Lisas, Luna and Hemelin. Though we may not speak, the imprints last. I love you girlies.

  • Keri. We were closer than close until she decided we weren't anymore. I had no one to go to prom with. Sigh.

  • We just drifted apart...for no apparent reason...and many years later bumber into each other with a warm yet distant embrace.

  • Peter. Best friend, ride or die, soul mate. He got married and had babies. I pulled away.

A black sign with white text saying 'My Lisa is...' above a light blue sticky note with handwritten blue ink describing a close friend named Lisa, age 13-16, who enjoys poker, radio DJing, college, and life in the Rockies.
Handwritten note on pink paper with a blackboard-style sign above it that reads 'My Lisa is...'
A pink sticky note with handwritten message in turquoise ink reads: "Sarah was the most important person in my life. Last month I found a pic of us I tried to text it to her and the # was disconnected." A black card with white text at the top says: "My Lisa is..."
A pink note with handwritten blue ink text sharing a story about Lisa, who was the user's sixth-grade best friend, staying with her grandma during summer and not returning.
A handwritten note on purple paper with a black label that reads "My Lisa is..." The note shares a story about a girl named Lisa, her best friend Gabrielle, and how they reconnected online after many years.