Under the Influence

The world of American teen culture is filled with viewers. Teens are constantly inundated by imagery of iconic figures, elevated to an almost religious level. As a result of this constant bombardment, teens begin to shape their behavior to emulate what they see.

Using some of the most iconic images, figures, and tropes of pop culture as a starting point, I enlist the help of high school aged people and ask them to step into the image and embody the celebrity. The image that we create together directly communicates with the images in pop culture that teens are so used to seeing. The images in Under the Influence reinforce the stereotypes and tropes that are inherent in pop culture imagery.

By participating in the making of my images, the models are (if only for a moment) transformed into the very thing they admire and aspire to be; the very thing they have spent so much time looking at. Now, they too will be looked at. They perform for some unknown, imagined viewer. There is no concern for who that viewer is–whether they are male or female, young or old–only that they exist, and that they will be looking.