Graduation Project_Ceremony of Desire

During an overall wonderful and insightful trip to Japan I was jolted by the omnipresence of schoolgirl culture, or 'JK'. I saw teenagers in school uniform sell their time to passers-by. Men pay to hold hands, go for a walk, or sleep on a girl's lap. This is all above board and legal. This schoolgirl aesthetic signifies youth and innocence, it is worshiped on mass. I question this normalcy. Muse: Hans Bellmer's 'The Doll '. Beautiful, pure, passive, a man's plaything. She abides and is puppeteered in a man's libertine, self-serving fantasy. Girl. Shibari (Japanese rope bondage) becomes a character in girl's life. A representation of restriction in all the forms it takes. Man. This collection explores snapshots in the life of girl at different stages in her life. An all too familiar narrative is presented through the lens of girl, maturing, parallel to the effects that the male gaze has on her life.