Margaret was photographed for Document Journal‘s Winter 2021/Resort 2022 issue. Check out the photos and interview below.
Magazine Scans > Magazines from 2021 > Document Journal (No. 19 – Winter 2021/Resort 2022)
Margaret Qualley and Miranda July are embracing the power of pretend
DOCUMENT JOURNAL – For Document’s Winter 2021/Resort 2022 issue, the two creative multihyphenates discuss make-believe worlds, roleplaying with the ones you love, and why their friendship has prevented international crimes
“Have you been thinking about me?” Margaret Qualley asks longingly. “Of course,” Miranda July answers. “But not every second of every day?” Qualley asks, tears welling in her eyes. “No,” Miranda admits.
This interaction marked the beginning of the pair’s first creative collaboration: a performance art piece that unfolded over Instagram in late 2019, with both actors posting voyeuristic FaceTime clips on public channels, hinting at a doomed love affair. “Is this real?” one commenter asks. “Jesus, this still rips my heart out,” says another. Unfolding on social media in the proceeding weeks, the story—which was partially scripted by July and partially improvised—came to involve other public figures like Jaden Smith and the singer Sharon Van Etten.
Qualley and July came up with the idea after meeting at a dinner party and immediately connecting. “At the end of the night, Margaret slipped me [her] number and said, ‘Call me if you ever want to make anything,’ which is all I ever wanted,” says July. The resulting performance is a love story that pulls at the heartstrings, evoking the raw emotion of a breakup while teasing a shared inner world just beyond the viewer’s grasp. It’s a world the two creative multihyphenates have continued to explore, having developed an intimate real-life friendship in the years since—one that has seen them through the pandemic, and served as a source of artistic inspiration for them both.
