Girlhood is not a fixed state; it is a fleeting, evolving experience, shaped as much by presence as by absence, by what we are and what we are not. In this series, I capture my younger cousins and sisters in moments of quiet introspection and unspoken connection, portraying girlhood as a space of both discovery and transition. Their world is one I once inhabited, but from which I now stand at a distance, looking back with both tenderness and unease.

As a queer woman, my relationship with girlhood is complex. There is gratitude for the experience I had, for the bonds and rites of passage that shaped me. But there is also a quiet ache, a recognition of the ways I did not fully fit into its expected form. This series is, in many ways, a reflection on that tension.

Through my lens, I document girlhood as it unfolds naturally, while simultaneously exploring my own relationship with it: the longing, the dissonance, the acceptance. I’m embracing girlhood not as a singular or universal experience, but as something fluid and deeply personal. It is an intersection of perspectives – mine as an artist looking back, and theirs as young women looking forward.

The images reject rigid notions of femininity, instead capturing moments of curiosity, self-definition, and transformation. They affirm that girlhood, and by extension womanhood, is not a single narrative but a multitude of them, shifting and expanding with each new generation.

To photograph my cousins and sisters is to honor them – to say: I see you as you are, in this moment, without expectation or limitation. And in doing so, I also affirm my own journey, embracing the girl I was, the woman I am, and the space in between.