I have obsessively photographed my children since they were babies. Now that they are in their teenage years, I find that examining their identities as well as those of their friends through photography is fascinating.
Youth can be seen as a time of searching for identity, during a time in which we also are being consumed socially and culturally with beauty and image. It is a time for exploring new possibilities, experiences and choices. While it is a time of prime physical condition and vitality, it is also a time of uncertainty. I find these concepts to be a common thread in this series of work.
Although I gave some direction, most of the work resulted naturally from the youth themselves.. I was inspired by observing and the images reflect the youths’ routines and demeanor. I want the images to look like we are looking in at their lives. At times this may or may not be comfortable for the subject.
While our culture capitalizes youth as a tool of fashion and marketing, my hope is to present youths as complex and engaging human beings.
My work fits in with contemporary artists of today such as Lauren Greenfield, Katy Grannan, and Tina Barney whose representations of culture and youth present a complex state of mind and being.