The Tween Éclat
Who among us has never wished to go back in time to the beginning of our adolescence, just to relive—even for a few moments—that incredible and fascinating euphoria that comes from the spasmodic unconsciousness of being twelve years old?
“I didn't have a single problem in the world. I was free from every responsibility. My only dilemma was deciding whether to listen on my orange cell phone (the old flip one) to Miley Cyrus's ‘Can't Be Tamed’ or Avril Lavigne's 'What the Hell.'" - Sara
“12” – Hollie Fernando
Being an adult means taking on one's own responsibilities: you have to take care of yourself, and you have to take care of others—and it’s the most difficult thing ever. It’s normal, therefore, to let ourselves be lulled by melancholy and look at the preteen years with a loving eye, romanticizing them—those same years that were actually demonized by us when we experienced them firsthand. When you’re twelve, you just want to grow up, leave home, and then you find yourself stuck behind your desk in a 9-6 office, remembering that skipping school, going secretly to concerts, and playing Just Dance on the Wii was actually the most precious thing life could offer you. Actually, being a tween (a name given for the “in-between” stage) is not that simple; it’s just that we don’t remember that part, probably because it’s more difficult for the people who surround you. It's the age of rebellion, the age of contrast, the age of boredom, the age where you try to find yourself, the age of having to fit in with the group, or else you end up alone. The age at which you have to learn how to exist in the world. You are vulnerable, and it's crucial to be able to move carefully: you have to trust the right people because if you let yourself be led in the wrong way, you can lose your innocence faster than you think.
“My 12 years were the interlude between being an innocent child living in a big bubble and the first calls of a rebellious adolescence that would become a guide for my life. It all started there: music and movies became my teachers." – Chicco
Being a tween is weird and messy, but it's also the most beautiful, meaningful, and intense period of individual lives. This is precisely the topic of Hollie Fernando’s debut solo exhibition. Hollie is a British, Brighton-based photographer whose work is influenced by her family, nature, women, and Pre-Raphaelite paintings, from color to the symbolic elements exhibited to the viewers. The photographer started studying photography at university but dropped out, choosing to develop her path by herself. Nowadays, she is known for shooting famous musicians, actors, and for her editorial fashion projects, but her personal projects best show her personality. "12" is a series about Max’s—her brother's—tween years. The whole project is based on narrating the increased risk-taking behaviors and the rebellious nature of tweens who, at the end of the day, come back home and look for a hug anyway.
“There were no social norms forcing you to do things, no malice, and no need to lie. I just laughed from morning to night, the last period I can remember when everything was truly simple." – Dan
“12” – Hollie Fernando
From memorable moments to the more mundane, Hollie documents this pivotal year in her brother’s life through a series of intimate portraits that capture the essence and beauty of youth. Shot predominantly in and around her family home in South London, Hollie provides a unique insight into Max’s pre-teen life. Shooting so closely with her brother not only opened up a whole new chapter in their relationship but also unlocked feelings of deep nostalgia for her own childhood. As Hollie said: “As much as this project is a documentation of my brother’s last year before becoming a teen, it has also been a reflection of my own quarter-life existential crisis. By documenting Max’s pre-adolescence, I am perhaps in some way making up for not being able to preserve my own.” Being a preteen today is certainly different, but it's a phase of life that, in some aspects, escapes the unrestrained evolutionary flow. Those years will forever be inevitably desperate and intense, and it's beautiful to have the opportunity to feel them again through the eyes of someone like Hollie, who celebrates them in all their crazy glory.
“It was the best feeling ever to go out in the afternoon and play soccer until my mom, cursing at me, called me to say that dinner was ready. Literally, that's who I was at 12. I would come back from school, eat, and go out to play; it was really nice.” - Rick
