Don’t view this as endorsement of kids smoking, tobacco or any of that shiznit. But these photos will make you look twice, guarenteed. Regardless of if it’s social, political or commercial, or otherwise, it’s very effective art. This is smart, powerful, horrible.
This photo series “The Beauty of an Ugly Addiction” is Photographer Frieke Janssens’ response to nicotine addiction and new smoking laws. She asks, “does this ban treat adults like children who can’t willfully decide whether or not to partake in this horribly harmful habit? What is it about smoking, aside from the obvious addictive content, that draws people in? Is it its image from film noir? Is it the appeal of its performative consumption, that mannerism or pose that seems to imbue a smoker with a particular sort of character?”
Can’t argue that you’ll stop and look. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then check out this sort of surreal behind the scenes video is here:
[via flavorpill, neatorama]
If that is the case, I am still confused. We say “please stop treating us like kids, we are grown adults and we want to decide ourselves if we want to smoke or not”.
In effect, we say “let us smoke if we want to”, and we show little kids smoking? Still doesn’t make sense to me-but this is only my personal opinion, I am not saying that it is wrong or whatever-I just don’t seem to get it.
If that is the case,
Sorry, can’t get the message. Every child in the world likes to dress up and act as a grown-up, so these children had this fantasy photographed professionally. Can’t see something deeper. Maybe I’m not getting it, maybe there is a big picture along with an exhibition or event, I don’t know. I don’t mean to be critical or disrespectful, I am just being honest: I can’t see the message in this.
I think the message Costasc is not about the kids so much but about grown adults being told they can not make thier own descision on wether or not they smoke due to new laws to ban smoking, as in they are being treated like children.
I think people should be treated like children and with laws, in whatever country it is is fine. They are not children? Then what happens when they get sick because of smoking? Yes they want daddy government to treat them. So you need either a law for this of smokers signing an agreement in which they will not get any sort of government/tax funded health care on treatments related but not limited to smoking.
Hi, I’m the photographer 🙂
The kids are between 4 and 9 year old. Is was inspired by the Indonesian boy of two years old who smoked 40 cigarettes a days. No real cigarette was uses on the set, I used chalk sticks, incense, candles, gruyère cheese in paper, …
Best,
Frieke
Frieke, very well done and I personally love images of juxtaposition. Taking these two unrelated subjects and putting them together with great styling was a terrific idea.
Now days everyone is brainwashed to hate this industry or that industry (tobacco, oil, banking, etc) but if you remove what ever personal bias you have, the images stand on their own. Of course the will no doubt be controversy which generates buzz. 🙂
Nice job
Beautiful pictures. Perhaps it is spelled differently in another language but in English the video should read “Making Of” with only one f. Or perhaps I’m missing something…
Dunno how it’s going to help the kid at the end of the vid, but really good photos. Evokes a response; hopefully she can get a response from the right people with these.