SIXTEEN x S2AU

© Linda Brownlee

Sixteen is an age of transition. It’s a time of increasing peer pressure, risk taking, and anxiety about social and personal worth. It can be turbulent and challenging for adolescents on the cusp of adulthood as they try to find their place in a society that often seems oblivious of their concerns.

This ambitious project brings together the work of 16 photographers whose portraits and interviews with British youth offer a glimpse of what it means to be sixteen years old in today’s fractured country. Some of this work will be on display in the gallery, selected by our team of young creatives.

This exhibition is the culmination of its year long tour across Britain, visiting 15 cities and towns, from Shetland to Belfast, via Hull and Newlyn. For our show at Photofusion, we turned over the Sixteen project to our youth collective, Sorry 2 Annoy U (S2AU). They have curated, programmed and planned the exhibition, including inviting local artists to respond to the themes addressed in the exhibition.

Sorry 2 Annoy U (S2AU) are a new youth led collective based at Photofusion, which aims to create a space for young people to find a creative community whilst developing their skills as artists, curators and practitioners.

As young people growing up in London, we feel passionate about representing the identity of young people from all areas of society. Our collaboration with SIXTEEN explores exactly this and what it means to be sixteen years old in modern day society.

We are concerned about the negative representation of youth in the media and wider art contexts. A lack of diversity, understanding of the political challenges we face, and the commodification of youth culture are particularly important issues to us. We hope that this exhibition will create a positive impact on the opinion and representation of young people today.

SIXTEEN

Chris Nunn, Craig Easton, David Copeland, Jilian Edelstein, Katie Peters, Linda Brownlee, Lottie Davies and Sophie Gerrard.

OPEN CALL

Aimee Sills, Alisha Dar, Christian Anderson, Eric Aydin-Barberini, Isobel Attrill, Lydia Clear, Marley Kiwinda, Matt MacPake, Milk & Honey, Molade Moyosola, Sade Mia, Sally He, Stafi Samaki, Thomas Norris, Tyrone Parson.

S2AU

Destinie Paige, Filip Skiba, Hayleigh Longman, Lisa Francisca, Malaika Obonyo.