Following along with the artist’s exploration of childhood through her rapidly growing daughters, Teen Spirit investigates the reality of adolescents of today. Through portraiture and prosaic allegories the artist is looking for insight as a parent while inevitably relating to the subjects’ quest of self discovery.
Teenagehood is this short but formative period of time in our lives when the carelessness of childhood collides with increasing expectations from our environment and society. Through fragments collected from experiences and the world around us, we build our own fortress so we can stand strong and tall while sometimes simultaneously going into hiding in plain sight as we choose to join an army of genuine look-alikes
In a world where technology has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, is there a space young people can hole up in and call their own? How do adolescents highlight their individuality in contrast to the ocean of futile images we have been accustomed to through social media?
Inherently, Teen Spirit touches on how the media, here photography and film, reflects through the way adolescents today chose to perform their identity. A term defining an age group born through a time of economic prosperity, “Teenagers” have been a relentless market to cater to as well as being an indispensable source of inspiration for their own consumption.
The analog mediums used to document her subjects deliberately aim at giving their self image some form of physical presence, a permanent imprint of a transitory state and a piece of one’s history.. Meanwhile, giving adolescents agency by letting them decide on where and how they want to be seen and challenge the inherited power dynamic of the camera and the image maker in relation to the sitter. The portraits are punctuated by fleeting moments and domestic scenes further illustrating one of images’ greatest power; to help us relate and connect with one another.