Artist's Statement

I have observed this particular group of boys in my Decatur, Georgia, neighborhood for eleven years. They and my son have been friends since the first grade and are now sixteen and seventeen. Traveling as a pack, they sometimes behave as animals do, picking on each other and establishing pecking orders. With maturity they have developed a fierce loyalty to each other and perhaps lifelong friendships. Among themselves they open up but when they are among adults they are often guarded or hidden from view.