This work began in 2007. I photographed young girls, the children of family and acquaintances, between the ages of six and eleven in the comfort of their childhood bedrooms. The project changed when I re-photographed each of the subjects again, more than ten years later, in 2018. A semblance of each girl’s younger self – chipped nail polish, hair tie on the wrist – are still present often in the same, albeit differently decorated, bedroom.
The two portraits, separated by time, are located at the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. This work examines the many ways that the formative years of American girls are shaped by the media, consumer culture and an awakening sense of sexuality and gender roles. I collaborated with each of my subjects helping guide their choices of wardrobe, pose and gesture while being sensitive to how each wanted to be represented.
