A survey conducted by Mission Australia revealed that the top issues of concern among young people were stress, school, and body image.
To help young girls to feel more confident about themselves, a program called ‘This Is Me: Self Identity Project’ was organized for 13 and 14-year-old girls in Australia.
In the program, coordinator Fiona Whitton and photo media artist Simone Darcy encouraged the girls to think beyond the ‘selfie’ box and smash unrealistic notions of beauty—by asking them to think about how they wish to portray their true selves.
The resulting portraits were an alternative and artistic take on the ‘selfie’ trend—the girls expressed themselves creatively with props, costumes, make-up in playful ways.
Darcy told The Herald, “It’s about playing with different ways of looking at one’s self… you don’t even have to look beautiful in front of the camera all the time.”
Check out the girls' reinvented selfies below, which will also be on display at Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery from 26 July to 3 August 2014.
Image by Dean Osland
[via HelloGiggles, Images by Simone Darcy via HelloGiggles]