Oh to be young again. I’m pretty sure it used to be summer all year round, except two weeks of snow at Christmas. No two-day hangovers, things were cheap, and waistlines weren’t so much as a fleeting consideration, never mind an unending battle. Halcyon days. The photography of Olivia Bee brilliantly captures the threshold of adolescence and adulthood in all its vivid vitality – not surprising since she’s still living the dream at the tender age of 20. Despite her relative youth, Bee has an extraordinary CV behind her already; having gotten interested through Flickr sharing at just 11, she was a fully-fledged photographer by 13, and has shot for companies including Converse, Levi’s and Hermès, publications such as New York Times and Vice, and has given two TEDx lectures.
Kids in Love is Bee’s first NYC solo exhibition, currently on show at agnes b. Galerie Boutique in SoHo, until 27 July. There’s 28 colour and mono images in the series, and all feature Bee’s friends or the artist herself. The implicit trust between the photographer and subjects creates a natural and intimate quality to the pictures that will immediately connect with younger viewers and have older ones dreamily reminiscing of fleeting moments from the past. Enjoy it while you’re young, kids…
Olivia Bee
Pre-Kiss, 2010
Olivia Bee
Untitled (Liam), 2011
Olivia Bee
Rivkah, 2013
Olivia Bee
4th of July (The Family You Choose), 2013
Olivia Bee
Codependency Before College, 2012
Olivia Bee
Running Away Lightly Magic Hour, 2012
Olivia Bee
Untitled (T-Shirt Weather Heaven), 2013
