Girlhood: Lost and Found explores the experience young girls face growing up in a world full of preconceived notions of what it means to be a woman. Lost objects in the street coupled with intimate portraits mirror the many ways women lose their sense of identity as they maneuver life as a female. This work began as a personal journey to discover a way back to the person I was before I learned how the world saw me. But as time progressed, I realized that the larger mirror was my own daughter, and the bigger concern was how to raise her with awareness. I then began traveling back in time, mining old journals and photo albums I had made throughout my own girlhood, as well as investigating archival magazine tears and photographs from my years spent in front of the camera working as a model and actor. Synchronicities between the older materials and my adulthood, as well as the photographs I had already made of my daughter, began to reveal themselves. The lines between lifetimes began to blur, and the mirror expanded further to include our shared past experiences and possible fates. The collection of images as a whole examine multi-generational attachments formed in early childhood influenced by female stereotypes portrayed in our daily lives. In the spirit of deprogramming, parallel pasts are examined, proving history can repeat itself before we have a chance to realize it’s happening. The discarded items offer the opportunity to reflect upon the desires women abandon to conform to subliminal ideals as we navigate the culture we live in. How do we reclaim the lost girl and her true nature, betrayed by false truths and unrealistic expectations to fit the restrictive mold accepted by society? This work holds me accountable, and is helping me age with pride and acceptance in a world that makes women feel as though we should be preparing for battle instead. It is my hope that like the objects in these images, by tossing unnecessary baggage aside, the external influences that took hold in girlhood can also be left behind, clearing the way for a reunion with the woman I am truly meant to be. Furthermore, I hope it serves as a teacher for my daughter, providing warning signs on her path to womanhood, all in the hopes of sparing her, and other young girls, from getting lost along the way.

11x 14 prints