Throughout this week CEG will be showcasing the artists that we will be exhibiting at the AIPAD Photography Show New York, April 4-7, 2013. CEG will be featuring the work of Keliy Anderson-Staley, Daniel Beltrá, John Cyr, Elizabeth Ernst, Frieke Janssens, Lori Nix and Gregory Scott.

Our second featured artist is Belgium photographer Frieke Janssens. Her Smoking Kids series is also currently on view at the gallery through May 4, 2013.

Frieke Janssens embarked on Smoking Kids in response to seeing a video of a chain-smoking toddler in Indonesia who became a tourist attraction. Alarmed by this reality, she decided to show people what the act of smoking looks like through the posturing of four to nine year old children. Working with modeling agencies, volunteers and family friends, Janssens tackled the issue of glamour often associated with smoking. Both irreverent and stunning, Janssens’ photographs challenge our perceptions of smoking and the attitudes often defined by it.

It is important to note that chalk and sticks of cheese were used as props for the cigarettes, and candles and incense provided the wisps of smoke. The final photographic results were done in computer, combining the photograph of the child with a photograph of an adult hand smoking a cigarette. Below are a few behind the scenes images from various photo shoots.

Please stop by CEG or visit us at AIPAD, booth #204, to see more work by Frieke Janssens.

To see all the images in the series and for more information, visit our website.