Illusions of Innocence
Photographer Bréana Parks explores the effects of double consciousness forced on Black children, who are often viewed as older—and more threatening—than they are.
It’s taken decades of research to prove something that seems pretty obvious to photographer and educator Bréana Parks. Compared to their white peers, Black children are often viewed as older than they actually are, less innocent, and more threatening—a perception that can affect children as young as 5 years old.
A 2017 report from Georgetown University law school’s Center on Poverty and Inequality found that Black girls, particularly those age 5 to 14, are seen as more sexually mature and are assumed to know more about adult topics than white girls in the same peer group. The result, authors Rebecca Epstein, Jamilia J. Blake and Thalia Gonzalez wrote, is that Black girls experience “adultification,” and are not afforded the same childhood benefits as whites.
Earlier research published by the American Psychological Association showed that Black boys as young as 10 are not viewed in the same light of childhood innocence as their white peers, but are instead more likely to be mistaken as older, be perceived as guilty and face police violence if accused of a crime.
As a photographer and someone who works with youth as a teaching artist at Reach Ashland Youth Center, Parks was inspired to reflect these dual perceptions through a creative project. “Illusions of Innocence” is an ambitious photography series that aims to illuminate both the joyful, innocent moments of childhood and the older, more menacing perception that many children are unjustly veiled with.
Black boys as young as 10 are not viewed in the same light of childhood innocence as their white peers, but are instead more likely to be mistaken as older, be perceived as guilty and face police violence if accused of a crime.
Parks has already begun photographing her subjects and experimenting with layering the photos—an ethereal yet powerful presentation that lets the viewer see the jarring contrast between society’s perception of these kids, and their own youthful reality. And she’s generously given REP CO a sneak peak of a few of them seen here. Parks plans to print these double images on hand-dyed silks for the full gallery installation. An up-and-coming artist, she is asking for community support to complete “Illusions of Innocence,” and has set up a GoFundMe to raise the modest budget of $2,500. “The funds will allow me to pay my students for their particpatiion, and cover printing materials and installation equipment.”
REP CO sat down with Bréana Parks to discuss this important, illuminating project. Dig into our convo below, and if you are able, make sure to give a few dollars to help her complete it!
REP CO: Let’s kick things off with foundations. Where did you grow up and how did you get into photography?
BRÉANA: I grew up in Hayward, CA but popped around all over the East Bay. I’m a Afro-Filipino live production producer and photographer who makes portraits, conceptual art, and documentary photography. I got into photography through seeing my cousins fancy camera and experimenting. I didn’t take photography seriously until the end of my junior year when I bought my own camera. And since then I’ve graduated from UCSD with a major in Visual Arts Media and a minor in Ethnic Studies. My photographs have been featured in UC San Diego undergraduate art exhibitions, The San Diego Tribune, Asia’s Next Top Model promos and Represent Collaborative.
REP CO: Tell us about the concept for your latest photo project, “Illusions of Innocence.”
BRÉANA: So, “Illusions of innocence” is a photo series I’ve been developing for the past three months where I explore the double standards and perceptions that are often put on Black youth, forcing them to grow up faster. In the photo series I do a variety of double exposures of each child I have participating. The double exposures explore double consciousness, which is a concept created by W.E.B Du Bois. After photographing the main images, I plan to print the photographs on silks to represent the veil that’s not often seen by outsiders. Along with that symbolism, we see silks as valuables, which is how we view our youth—people who should be treasured. And on my nerdy level, silks are also things that were traded during the time of the transatlantic slave trades—I always love to tie in history to my projects.
One of my main goals is the make a video installation to start, seeing as galleries aren’t open during this time. Once galleries are open I'd love to build the installation for the silks and frame some of the photos.
“‘Illusions of innocence’ is a photo series I’ve been developing for the past three months where I explore the double standards and perceptions that are often put on Black youth, forcing them to grow up faster.”
REP CO: You work with kids on a daily basis. Can you tell us about what you do as an educator and how that work inspired this project?
BRÉANA: I work for Reach Ashland Youth Center as a teaching artist, where I teach conscious storytelling for 3 to 4 week sessions. Conscious storytelling is being able to tell a visual story either through life experiences or history in a way that’s thoughtful, which is most of my work. In the sessions, I give kids the building blocks to understand photography and film and produce projects by the end of the session.
Reach is a center for youth created by youth in the Ashland area, where kids can participate in after school programs such as mine (or many more) to learn skills and meet with friends in a COVID-safe environment. Reach also provides access to free food and health centers for them.
I honestly believe this project I’m doing wouldn’t have been as good without my kids. And they will be the FIRST to tell me that, too! I believe that by being around these kids I’ve learned to have more thoughtful conversations, and that inspires me to think about how to mentor them. And if my work can do that even a little, that means a lot. That’s a round about way of saying yes, the interactions I have with these kids inspired this project, as we talk often in class about how we are seen as Black youth.
REP CO: As a young artist, you're also not that far removed from childhood yourself—do you recall any moments during childhood where someone else's gaze or society's aged you in a way that relates to or influenced this project?
BRÉANA: That’s a great question! The times I feel like I could relate to my project was probably around the memories of being 14/15. I remember going to a basketball game in early high school since my dad was a coach and toward the end of the game, I was with my mom and a older man approached me. He was probably around the age of my parents. He assumed because of how I looked I seemed older so he proceeds to flirt with me. And as I noticed that, I immediately felt uncomfortable and turned to my mom to tell the man I was 15, to which he was embarrassed and walked away as fast as he came.
Often I’m told I have a baby face and I look as young as 17, but in that moment a older man saw me as a grown up. And that scares me a bit that older men, and men in general, will view any of my female students as a women and find that as invitation to act or talk to them in an presumptuous manner.
“I remember going to a basketball game in early high school since my dad was a coach and toward the end of the game, I was with my mom and a older man approached me. He was probably around the age of my parents. He assumed because of how I looked I seemed older so he proceeds to flirt with me.”
REP CO: Your project also touches on the effects this double standard has on the kids themselves...can you talk a little about that and how you plan to express that artistically?
BRÉANA: To illustrate the double standard I wanted to work in double exposures, which is composing two images on top of each other to make them both exposed. I felt doing the double exposures allowed viewers to pick which of the two was the “real” image. “Real” as in how they perceive them.
I’ve used silks in a few of my projects, one being “Waves,” so in a way it’s a common thread between my works. However, in “Illusions of innocence,” silk is seen as a few things: 1) A veil which most people aren’t aware of because of inherit bias or media perception 2) A valuable that is often traded and commodified—most Black Youth are treasured, but Blackness has also been seen as commodity in popular culture 3) A piece of history, as silks have a history with Black bodies, as both royals and slaves. When printing the silks, I hope to print them with borders of different shades of brown to show the multiple shades of Blackness, as one shade isn’t universal.
REP CO: This project isn't just going to be this finished thing folks can look at—it sounds like you will be gifting some elements of it back to the community. Can you tell us about that?
BRÉANA: Yeah of course! My plan for the project is, one, to give my students who participate some form of monetary compensation. I want to teach them when you work on a project you can get paid or do what’s called an art trade. Besides paying the students, I want to gift their parents with a nice portrait of them and their print. Also, since I’m doing my project in relation to my job at Reach I wanted to gift them with a few photos of the kids to put in the building!
REP CO: Being part of the next gen of creatives yourself, are there any artists you would you suggest our readers check out?
BRÉANA: There’s so many dope creatives out there right now that have inspired me, I always love the work of Carrie Mae Weems, Hank Willis Thomas, Adrian Octavius Walker, Dawoud Bey and Joshua Renfroe.