Extracted Dreams, Implanted Realities
An examination of girls growing up in southeast Ohio
Photography and Text by Andrea Morales
Somewhere between teenage fantasy and the reality of poverty are the girls of Glouster, an old company town in southeast Ohio. They're coming of age in a former coal boomtown with few modern resources, struggling as they attempt to craft their own aspirations.
The community is home to the state's poorest school district and is regionally notorious for crime and dysfunction, which has risen in the last decade with the influx of prescription drug abuse and heroin. But for these girls, the lightness of their youth allows them to quietly defy the cards they have been dealt.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Andrea Morales' project "Extracted Dreams, Implanted Realities" won TIME Magazine's 2011 inaugural Next Generation Photography Contest. Student photographers were invited to submit a portfolio for review by TIME's editors. Morales won the top prize of $2,500 and a portfolio review with the magazine’s photo editors.
Andrea Morales was born in Lima, Peru, in the midst of hyperinflation and political instability to a very lovely set of parents. After catching some luck during a visa lottery, Andrea and her family moved to Miami where she spent her formative years observing life and writing about it in Spanglish. [Full Bio Here]|
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Very nice work capturing some important realities of the American midwest, the U.S. itself actually, that are rarely acknowledged much less depicted, though I would have liked to have seen at least a few outside shots of the town and/or country to further define the place and people. Good work. Thanks.
[...] See the essay at: American-Journal.org. [...]
Wow. The photo of Nikki offering the cigarette to her dog is a little heartbreaking and a little hilarious all at once – her dog Miley seems to be giving her a “WTF are you doing?!” expression. Thank you for capturing this slice of american life and sharing your work.
[...] Curious People, Peter Marovich’s Legacy of the Black Cowboy, Andrea Morales’ Extracted Dreams, Implanted Realities, Jennifer Whitney’s Love and the Third Degree, and Jenna Isaacson’s All Thrifty States. [...]