Mighty Girls
How is a girl supposed to be? In those delicate years traversing the chasm between “big girl” and “young woman”, a girl must struggle to find herself. Whether she looks to television, glossy magazines, music videos or social media, the world is awash with mixed messages: she is told “Be this way!” and just as soon as she bends herself to fit a particular mould, she’s told “No, be this way!” Mighty, then, is the girl who forges her own path; who considers everything available to her and has the courage to be, simply, herself.
In this series of portraits of my daughter and her close friends, I wanted to capture the defiance and determination of these young girls, but also their vivaciousness and humour. It is there in unexpected touches, like a hunting rifle and dead rabbit or a retro skateboard, as well as in quotidian details, like a pair of gumboots that are a touch too big, evoking the young womanhood these girls teeter on the precipice of.
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/ba833bef-1669-4fc3-90d6-ef2f7b7823ed/0/0/0/0,0,1797,2400,1600,2400/0-0-0/2f316516-90ac-4cb2-8e8b-f9f36f6acbc9/1/1/kristyn_jones_headon.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037596495~hmac=46d7eda6cf8d080f740ae23a2dc889f78f499638a87e592f475cc87cbfd97034)
Edie
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/ba833bef-1669-4fc3-90d6-ef2f7b7823ed/0/0/0/0,0,1440,1800,1600,1800/0-0-0/8332f40c-0c6a-4eeb-83d7-50c5b0fc9c82/1/1/e75-08-1463-556-Edit.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037596495~hmac=1d5a7fc730ea1740afd7acb584829b583e6063a52f953e46891f12e26e77991d)
Kate
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/ba833bef-1669-4fc3-90d6-ef2f7b7823ed/0/0/0/0,0,1348,1800,1600,1800/0-0-0/1551804a-26f4-4282-8c2b-afbfd2c820bf/1/1/e75-08-1463-494.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037596495~hmac=88779a3376179fde2c74b6e67177a5140e34bdbf83625d9bf70d228aafa1a2e6)
Ady
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/ba833bef-1669-4fc3-90d6-ef2f7b7823ed/0/0/0/0,0,1348,1800,1600,1800/0-0-0/141af348-c9be-448b-bcc6-0201d7c7eab3/1/1/e75-08-1463-486-Edit.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037596495~hmac=88779a3376179fde2c74b6e67177a5140e34bdbf83625d9bf70d228aafa1a2e6)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/ba833bef-1669-4fc3-90d6-ef2f7b7823ed/0/0/0/0,0,1440,1800,1600,1800/0-0-0/ada07805-e184-4326-a83a-740945645b62/1/1/e75-08-1463-506-Edit.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037596495~hmac=1d5a7fc730ea1740afd7acb584829b583e6063a52f953e46891f12e26e77991d)
Lara
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/ba833bef-1669-4fc3-90d6-ef2f7b7823ed/0/0/0/0,0,1497,2000,1600,2000/0-0-0/dc5e1123-fd1f-4c64-be94-0cd5a036637b/1/1/e75-08-1463-513.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037596495~hmac=c7ac78e9710ab9606b0aeb02d276d1ef014282352f308349083e2b22117cffd3)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/ba833bef-1669-4fc3-90d6-ef2f7b7823ed/0/0/0/0,0,1348,1800,1600,1800/0-0-0/bc376bed-3ea7-47fb-b52d-2f5ac61a0d19/1/1/e75-08-1463-455-Edit.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037596495~hmac=88779a3376179fde2c74b6e67177a5140e34bdbf83625d9bf70d228aafa1a2e6)
Lexi