33" x 24"

I caught these boys in a mud fight that teetered between roughhousing and brutal violence. One boy was targeting and harassing another in the trenches along the motorhome lot. Unwilling to give up on pulling his friend down with him, the boy tried with all his might to grasp any limb that his slippery hands would allow. To the unknowing eye, one can’t precisely tell if the shining shirtless boy is attempting to help his friend or hold him down. Although I know the truth of their encounter, they are frozen in a nurturing position that emanates something innately maternal and mythological. My intervention as a photographer is my vision for the future of these boys. Just as the viewer must decide how to perceive their position, what echoes through the work is a call to action: Will you choose to revel in the violence, or will you visualize a different narrative where white boyhood is steeped in guidance and accountability? I am hopeful that a visualized choice in perception will generate a strong sense of sovereignty in the viewer; one, perhaps, that will incentivize community healing from the violence that masculinity creates.