The inquiry that guided my sustained investigation is “What is Girlhood?” While each girl’s childhood and upbringing is unique and affects their experiences of girlhood differently, there are many shared experiences to have when it comes to growing up as a girl. As our experiences shape us, it can be comforting to know that we are not alone in what we are going through. Going through adolescence can be especially isolating for girls and my vision aims to explore relatable questions and feelings girls have when it comes to growing up. Feelings of wonder, the passage of time, and identity.
Originally, I was afraid of touching on the sensitive or painful parts of girlhood. But as I continued I felt ready and responsible for representing all aspects of girlhood in my investigation. I also started spending less time on complex presentations of a piece to look realistic and instead more on the meaning behind it and emotional backstory of each image. I learned to let more of my own experience build my pieces and in turn made them more personal. By the end, the pieces I resonated with the most when creating them had full screen photographs, reflective text, and layered graphics.
