Fourteen

This is my family project since my son was 8 years old. I photographed, my husband/hair stylist did hair and my son Rei has casted all his friends in Brooklyn New York where they live. This series is focused on 14 years old.

 It all started with my son, Rei. He was eight years old when Covid-19 was eating the world up. During the National State of Emergency, my husband, Tomo (the resident hair stylist), and I (the camera addict) started documenting his “hair story” for editorial Document Journal. That’s when something clicked. With a photographer, a hair stylist, and one very cool kid under the same roof, it felt like the perfect family project. Through Rei, I began to see childhood and identity with fresh eyes. He became more than my son; he became my muse and the spark for everything that followed. What began as a single shoot evolved into an ongoing visual diary of New York and Brooklyn kids: bold, stylish, chaotic, and full of life. Kids are fearless, expressive, and completely unique. Whether dancing, dreaming, or redefining themselves beyond labels, they burst with creativity that refuses to be contained.

Tomo didn’t want this project to be a typical hair story or simply about creating bold, unconventional looks. He wanted to engage in real conversations with this generation and build hair stories that naturally extend from each individual’s personality.

As a photographer, there is a specific moment I love to capture: the magic of a child’s first session in a photo studio. These are the kind of experiences they will remember forever. Even the loudest, funniest kids often become nervous and self-aware when the camera is first pointed at them. Some are so excited they barely sleep the night before.

This project grew from a single portrait into a story about “becoming”— about the wild, tender power of youth. I photograph to celebrate that spark and to remind myself what it feels like to explore without limits