I found Peter Groom on Instagram. He combined two of my passions - Dietrich and Drag - and he did it so artfully.

Back in 2010, I had a studio in Hackney Wick (London) in the same building as artist Eddie Peake. We bumped into each other one day and he told me I must watch ‘Paris is Burning’ (1968). This was my true introduction to drag.

A subject which encompasses so much in its exploration of gender, class, race and sexuality it has taken me a number of years to approach it with some degree of confidence. Peter was the key.

Trained in acting and dance (having worked with Pina Bausch) he wrote a one-part play called ‘Natural Duty’ which explored Dietrich’s years spent supporting the allied forces in WW1. I went to see him perform and documented his process as he transformed himself into Dietrich backstage.

We decided to collaborate on these drawings. I chose two images of Dietrich which have remained with me for years as my favourites - perhaps because they show her in moments of unawareness. In one she strikes a paparazzi at the airport with her handbag in the other she grapples with a comb and dress in what I imagine is an effort to get ready for a performance.

I wanted to recreate these images with Peter but for his portraits to have their own sensibility. Together we sourced costumes and props which would echo Dietrich at the time the photos were taken of her. Peter is such a talented performer that he not only managed to embody Dietrich but he also simulates the era bringing an element of sadness and a touch of lightness together at once. I rarely use colour but it seemed appropriate here to highlight the vacuum of time since Dietrich walked among us and her enduring legacy in the minds of artists such as Peter.

Dietrich was addressing issues of gender and sexuality with unabashed confidence at a time when it was rare for figures in the public eye to do so. This is why her legacy is so enduring for like-minded people.

The drawings are based on auctioneer’s images when an outfit with the provenance of being worn by a famous person is for sale - modelled on a mannequin - and often juxtaposed next to a historical image of said person (now deceased) wearing it at the time. These images have always fascinated me for the romance of the photo next to a starker image of the item - now seeming strangely redundant without their owner.