1 out of every 5 teenagers will at some point suffer from depression within their adolescence. This is an alarming issue in today’s society and many people do not realise how major the effect is. This is why I wanted to express this issue photographically to raise awareness through visual representation.
Things such as smoking, drugs, alcohol and sex are all triggers to teenage depression. Teenagers see these activities as solutions to blocking out their feelings and often this can result in worse effects and addction.
I wanted the models to actually be drinking and smoking to make the photographs more realistic. The models both wore dark clothing to give the photographs an overall dark colour scheme. The expression on the models faces was deliberately emotionless to portray what teenage depression feels like. Often teenage depression photographs are fake and cliché which does not encompass the seriousness of the issue. The teenagers in the majority of these photographs looked stressed out and extreme which looks forced and not viable. I also wanted two models in each photograph as most teenage depression photographs have one teenager in it and I feel having two models illustrates that more than that one teenager is affected. Although this might seem to take away from the loneliness the models don’t have any connection in the photographs to demonstrate that they don’t express their feelings to eachother.
I used low saturation photographs to give the photos a gloomy effect. The lines across the image also give the viewer a sense of detachment from the depressed teenagers as they feel there is a screen between them. I wanted to gain this sense of detachment because often this is how teenagers feel when they are depressed. I sliced the images to make the photographs seem more intense and make the issue more severe. I used no Photoshop brushes on the models faces or bodies as a deliberate act of expressing another issue within teenage society which is, body image. Often airbrushing creates an unrealistic idea of body image and how we should look that teenagers try to emulate. This admiration of these airbrushed bodies can create angst and prompt depression.
The setting used is not a staged set it is actually a popular place that teenagers use to smoke, drink and use drugs. I used it because it was an appropriate, realistic setting that other teenagers could relate to if they saw it. The graffiti adds to the realistic scene giving it a rebellious vibe.
