'Standing Guard'
There has always been conflict, inequality, instability in the world, but this moment in time, the trifecta of climate crisis, wars, and the rising power of the alt-right, creates, not only existential challenges, but also high anxiety and depression that know no boundaries. This can be seen in children throughout the world, no matter what their circumstances. How do our children even begin to make sense of this? How do they forge their own identities, their own paths into the future, when they are experiencing a world that seems to be spinning out of control?
I have taken photos of individual children who are trying on different identities in their quest to discover how to navigate in the world. To add additional layers of meaning and impact, I have manipulated each photo with a variety of editing tools to achieve images that show vulnerability, confusion, and attempts to gain power over their environments and emotions. I wish that all the children of the world had the opportunity to pursue such discoveries, rather than being consumed by pure survival.