Evan Baden

THE  _______  HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK PROJECT

Since photography’s inception, the publics’ natural inclination is that photography is the ultimate truth-teller.

 

They have been misled.

 

Today, more than ever before, we are surrounded by lies. Our culture is dominated by photographs that desire desperately to be true. To serve as evidence of our travels, achievements, and popularity. The world of social media is a world of half-truths, exaggerations, and outright lies. This is the world that young people are attempting to grow up in.

 

For those mired in this newfound environment, their reality is different than those whom have come before. The biographies that they form of everyone they know, even their most intimate of friends, are a mix of the fiction that they see in social media posts and the in-person experiences they have. No one is completely what they seem.

 

The images for The _______ High School Yearbook Project focus on a consistent group of young people. However, the high school they attend and the connections between them, like much of the world they actually live in, are a work of fiction. Using their own stories, rumors, pop culture influences, and their own desires, we create images that belong to a world that appears to be real; and as far as truth in our society is considered, it is. For often, the only proof that an event took place are the images that accompany the story, even if those images and events never took place as purported.

 

These images both question the legitimacy of the image as record as well as the problem of striving to find ones identity in a world of fiction.

 

The Outwin: American Portraiture Today

2016-17

National Portrait Gallery

Smithsonian

Washington, D.C.

 

 

Just Visiting

2016

SOIL Gallery

Seattle, WA

 

George

2016

 42 x 56” (107 x 142cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Angela, Morning Swim Practice

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Sports chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Florence and Daniel

2014

42 x 56” (107 x 142cm)

From the After School chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Dana, Ellie, Ameya, Nadya, Cheer Team

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Sports chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Bransen

2014

60 x 80” (152 x 203cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Lara and Paris, Backseat

2016

42 x 48” (107 x 122cm)

From the Home Life chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Caroline

2014

 30 x 40” (76 x 102cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Ellie, Ameya, Double Selfie

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the After School chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Mia & Ori, in the Woods

2016

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the After School chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Ashley

2014

30 x 40” (76 x 102cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

 

Marcel, Ori, Mia, Outdoor Adventures

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Extracurricular chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Grace

2016

 60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Kyle

2016

 42 x 56” (107 x 142cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Juma, Soccer Practice

2016

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Sports chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Paris

2016

50 x 53” (127 x 135cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Juma & Mia

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the After School chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Ashley, After Rodin

2014

 30 x 40” (76 x 102cm)

From the After School chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Ori, Breakfast

2014

40 x 50” (102 x 127cm)

From the Home Life chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Julia, with Rhododendrons

2017

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the After School chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Mia

2016

 42 x 56” (107 x 142cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Culla, Snapchat

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Home Life chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Kallisti, Derby Practic

2014

 60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Sports chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Culla, Ellie, Dance Team Practice

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Sports chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Claudia

2014

 50 x 53” (127 x 135cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Julia

2017

 42 x 56” (107 x 142cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Ameya

2014

 40 x 50” (102 x 127cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Mia, At Home

2016

 56 x 56” (142 x 142cm)

From the Home Life chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Rueben

2014

 40x 50” (102 x 127cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Culla

2014

 30 x 40” (76 x 102cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Lily, Kallisti, Satan R14ing

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Extracurricular chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Juma

2016

 42 x 56” (107 x 142cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Mia

2014

40 x 50” (102 x 127cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Marcel, Juma, Track Practic

2014

60 x 70” (152 x 178cm)

From the Sports chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Ellie

2014

40 x 40” (102 x 102cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

Paris, Golf Practice

2016

 42 x 56” (107 x 142cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

 

 

Ori

2014

50 x 50” (127 x 127cm)

From the School Photos chapter of

The _______ High School Yearbook Project

OSU Faculty Exhibit

2016

Fairbanks Gallery

Oregon State University

42 x 56” (107 x 142cm)