“Smoking Kids,” an exhibition by photographer Frieke Janssens

“Smoking Kids,” an exhibition by photographer Frieke Janssens, confronts the persistence of smoking as a cultural status symbol by using child models posing with cigarettes.

© Frieke Janssens

Although cigarettes were not allowed on the premises of Janssens’ photo shoots and her subjects, aged 4 through 9, held fake cigarettes made from cheese, incense and candles, the images highlight the normalization of cigarette smoking and its glorification as a hallmark of the retro aesthetic. Combining child models and vintage imagery, the show prompts audiences to consider what smoking has meant in the past and what it will become in the future.
Included as part of this exhibition is a preview of the artist’s work in progress Your Last Shot, a a portrait series intended to reframe the topic of death and remembrance.
The exhibition, in collaboration with Ingrid Deuss Gallery, will be on view at the VII Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, from January 11 through February 8, 2013. The opening reception will be on January 10, 2013 at 7pm.

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