GIRLHOOD

James, who has been The North Wall’s Propeller Artist for two years, began exploring the idea of GIRLHOOD during the group show ‘Fourteen’ which she facilitated and took part in for ‘Photo Oxford’ 2021. As a way to understand her journey of grief, she began investigating the vulnerability of adolescence as a metaphor of how she felt straight after her father died. Since then, James has been documenting teenage girls, all born at the start of the smartphone era and in a period of transition; gradually moving away from childhood yet nowhere near adulthood. Every adult was once a teenager, and we can all add to the conversation regarding our own teenage years. James tells us, “I, probably like yourself, was invincible as a teenager, yet now as an adult and as a mother I see how vulnerable teenagers are.” The artist’s ability to capture the essence of teenage girls allows for honest and sensitive imagery. Philippa James meaning behind her photos is that lot of teenage feels like waiting for adulthood, waiting for freedom, waiting to be taken seriously. This brilliant, stirring exhibit captures those feelings as well as the excitement kinship and joy of that time, told through McDonald’s trips and post-school bedroom hangouts.

James’ work here recalls the dreamy female gazes of photographers like Petra Collins and Ashley Armitage, although intentionally more grounded and unposed. In Girlhood, the camera seems to simply bear witness rather than glamourise or caution. Her strategy pays off: the unpoised vulnerability and freedom become the collection’s chief strength.

I’m going to be taking pictures of my friends doing their normal weekend ot day to day activity, such as shopping, doing hair, doing make up etc. Also going to be taking some portraits of different teenage girls styles.