A Train-Wreck of Privilege

Maggie Koerth-Baker is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. A freelance science and health journalist, Maggie lives in Minneapolis, brain dumps on Twitter, and writes quite often for mental_floss magazine.

This is generally off from the sort of thing I normally post, but I am completely fascinated by the recent work of German-born photographer Anna Skladmann. "Little Adults" is a series of portraits, featuring the uncomfortably made-up and dead-eyed children of Russian elites. It's like everything that's creepy about those baby beauty pageants, but with (generally) better taste.

Which, somehow, manages to make it even more creepy. Skladmann says:

The series explores what it feels like to be a privileged child living in Russia, a country where its radical history and social hierarchy still rules their daily lives. It is the exploration of the recently growing society of the "Nouveau-Riche", in which children have been raised to become the "Elite" and to behave like little adults. These portraits express a tension between the natural character and the stereotype of appearance, and how that co-exists in the world of children."

You really must go check out this entire series. It will haunt you.

Tip o' the hat to Sami at Ty.rannosaur.us.