Hellen van Meene’s portraits of adolescents are reflections of the search for identity that marks this stage of being, and indeed that sometimes remains a constant. The eyes that avert ours are just as telling as the gaze that meets us head on. Even though the artist has asked the children to pose in a certain way, we see plainly that the art comes from within and each child (for that is what she captures) exhibits his or her own qualities. What is art? Van Meene’s work shows us that sometimes the simplest answer is people.

Artist: Hellen Van Meene
+ hellenvanmeene.com

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