Illuminations - Expanding the Walls 2012 July 20, 2012

'Expanding the Walls: Making Connections Between Photography, History and Community' is an annual, eight-month program in which New York high school students explore history and community through photography. In 'Illuminations,' the 2012 Expanding the Walls artists celebrate and critique contemporary culture, and explore various definitions of self at a key moment in each of their lives. The group investigates the formal and conceptual possibilities of photography, drawing on a wide range of technical effects, investigating qualities of light and color, and using theatrical lighting and staging to manipulate the scenes they depict. The works in the exhibition reflect the specific concerns and interests of each artist, including teen culture and social life, neighborhood and high school communities, the bonds of family, and the natural and urban environments that compose the landscape of New York. Many of the artists also emphasize themes of individuality and vulnerability as they transition into adulthood, making pictures that reveal honest interpretations of their everyday lives.