Adolescence represents an inner emotional upheaval, a struggle between the eternal human wish to cling to the past and the equally powerful wish to get on with the future.

- Louise J. Kaplan 

Adolescents find themselves at a crossroads between the innocence ofbeing a child and the burden of becoming an adult. They live in a confusing phase, where naïveté and responsibility often clash and create tension. In this project, I hoped to capture the intense emotions of teenagers on the cusp of becoming adults: apprehension, bliss, uncertainty, and innocence. I wanted to explore the concept of rebirth—as a child grows into an adult. 

I aim to make an elastic and diverse, but thematically comprehensive bodyof work. The project incorporated portraiture as well as landscape and still-life photographs. I took a diaristic approach in documenting my subjects,who are often seemingly unaware of the camera’s presence. In each photograph, I captured a fleeting moment during a fast and furious phase of life. I hope to evoke in viewers the memories and emotions of their own youth. 

This project was completed at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during a summer intensive in 2012.