On the Verge by Chandler Sowden

Issue 72

For many, there comes a point in life where a larger society sees you as more than a child, but not quite an adult. My point came during my four years of college, where I was left drifting in a space where I began to define myself by my lack of definition. Reinforced and shaped by social behaviors that seem unacceptable beyond college life, my reality became one that I, as many others before and with me, was expected to leave behind.

My work in On the Verge seeks to make this temporary reality permanent. By the end of my four years, I found myself fascinated by the idea of this created place my friends and I had constructed for ourselves. We watched each other be consumed with the feeling of living on the verge of the rest of our lives—expectations waiting for us beyond graduation—that many felt were unattainable. In my work, the scenes of a vibrant college life are intertwined with the many emotions and uncertainties that come with late adolescence as adult life rapidly approaches. I photographed to understand and to remember this strange transient identity that is so unique to the early twenties and late adolescence.  

Chandler Sowden lives and works in Washington, D.C.
To view more of Chandler's work, please visit her website.

Extra thoughts. 2013

Extra thoughts. 2013

9pm, 2013

9pm, 2013

Exiting, 2012

Exiting, 2012

Goblet, in the bathroom, 2013

Goblet, in the bathroom, 2013

Grace, 2012

Grace, 2012

Sam, 2012

Sam, 2012

Beta I, 2013

Beta I, 2013

Beta II, 2013

Beta II, 2013

Approaching, 2013

Approaching, 2013

Ida, 2012

Ida, 2012

Dancing, watching. 2013

Dancing, watching. 2013

Drug-free school zone. 2013

Drug-free school zone. 2013

Primary thoughts. 2013

Primary thoughts. 2013

2am, 2014

2am, 2014

21, 2013

21, 2013

Dancing, 2013

Dancing, 2013

Daydream of Red, 2013

Daydream of Red, 2013

Three rooms. 2013

Three rooms. 2013

12 am. 2013

12 am. 2013

The verge. 2013

The verge. 2013