Youth to be … Cantelowes Skatepark – District of Camden town – London UK 2008 – 2011
« Adolescence is the age when anything is possible. It is also the age of all challenges, of all risks, or mutual training. »
We are not in a suburb of northen England corroded by gray and concrete where children have learned to grow up too fast. It is in London in Camden town skatepark that my photographic reflection about adolescence revealed itself. This story focuses on Young adolescents I met in Cantelowes skatepark when they were just about fifteen. They did not come on a regular basis to spend their energy, putting on their skateboards shoes or casually lingering along the skatepark ramps. It is an ode to life, punctuated by dense and colourful images, a trip to the scents of childhood end.
Jessy, Dominic, Mike, Francesco, Mauro, Andre were the actors of this metamorphosis called adolescence the most unexplainable and elusive transition, a passage from the world of childhood to adulthood. I followed them in their wandering for about five years. I explored though my camera lens this true search of identity where confusion in roles in never too far : the culture of risk as another contemporary reality. Shared friendship, tatoos, piercing and social networks, enable them to face everyday life and help them build themselves in a modern society constantly evolving. So, Youth to be is the expression of this desire, this passion to live against all odds in this society in crisis, where social reality and pursuit of profit have left deep scars.
Soraya Hocine is a freelance photographer. She lives and Works between the South of France and Paris. After History of Art’s studies, she start Photography in 2005. Hocine defines herself as a “narrative” artist. She is represented by K-Echo gallery.
Facing youth
September 14 – October 28, 2012
Mosteiro de Tibães
Rua do Mosteiro – Mire de Tibães
Braga, Portugal
