This series was conceived as a set of metaphorical images reflecting our own uneasiness in the “emerging adulthood” period identified by psychological researcher Jeffrey Arnett a decade ago. Coined as a descriptor for the perceived malaise of “generation me,” emerging adulthood is a stage of development between adolescence and adulthood in industrialized nations. Arnett’s theory serves as a way of understanding the awkward fumbling toward adulthood and responsibility that takes place for years after one is supposedly a fully grown adult. We are both experiencing our own emerging adulthoods, and are well aware of the historical contextualization of prior generations: compared to them, we’re behind schedule. These photographs are produced collaboratively, and with varying degrees of autobiography. Through metaphorical images, we’re trying to illustrate the fear, uncertainty, and ambiguous criteria of adulthood. We’re kicking and screaming, here. We’re learning what it means to be a whole person in the twenty-first century, and learning that failure and disappointment are a pretty big part of that.
