Sevim Dogan Ozkan, The Youth (Documentary/Photojournalism (ATEP 2017))

“The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong. It gives me both a point of connection and a point of separation.” – Susan Meiselas Charlie, Chris, Ben, Cian, Mahder, Jake, Edmund, Matthew, Dylan... and the list goes on. Few of the names I’ve met over the last few months since I’ve started working on this project. As young as twelve. Dysfunctional families, trapping friendships, drug addictions, mental disabilities. A part of society, I have long kept my distance from. As simple as life can be, I’ve found nothing more complicated than their lives. I fell for their rawness, realness and unfortunateness. The experience has made me grow, see and question. The project "Youth" has been inspired from the stories in the Western suburbs of Melbourne and reflected in a day of Chris' life, a young man who lives in so much bitterness and uncertaintiy.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.