The Teenager Project is a series of portraits – ink and conté drawings and carved-wood sculptures – of adolescents. My goal is to study the uniqueness of real teenagers as they attempt to define their identities in modern culture. I’m interested in the ways that teens draw from a specific youth-culture vocabulary as they define their identities. They use clothing, hairstyles and accessories to show their political and cultural alliances, and express their personal sense of style. I try to capture the tiny details of their clothing, their hairstyles and their book bags and backpacks. I am interested in the ways that a person’s identity develops and unfolds during adolescence, as well as their quest for self-definition and rites of passage. I’m interested in validating and recording the uniqueness of each of my participants, as well as their unique characters, ambitions and struggles. (See more Teeagers at: http://www.missioncreep.com/hagen/index.html)