I chose this image because it is simple and it represents the blissfulness of childhood. Children as young as I was when this picture was taken are at a stage where there is ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Kids are not believed to be capable of making their own choices, which is why parents or caretakers make them for them. They tell a child something is “wrong” or “right” after the action has been committed, but no one really takes the time to instruct them on thinking before acting, and how their actions not only affect them personally, but they affect others too. Also, I believe that physical or psychological ways of punishment are inefficient. On the other hand, positive feedback, or alerting the child about the consequences of their actions—i.e. someone’s feelings getting hurt, something broken that cannot be used anymore, etc.—can make a child grow intellectually and enhance his/her relationships with others. To portray children’s dilemma I chose to make a copy of my picture and flip it creating a kaleidoscope effect. In the image, I am reaching for flowers, but the smirk on my face proves that the photo was staged and that I was told to pose in a certain way by the grown up holding the camera—this is both a physical and symbolical action. I added a hallo-shaped sphere right above the girl on the left picture while I drew a couple of horns on the girl on the right, and blurred the yellow and red color of both of them respectively. The “good” girl’s dress’s color I altered until I found a very light pinkish white, while the “evil” girl’s dress reached a grayish dark red color. I enhanced the color of the flowers to a brighter pink tone, which draws the viewer’s attention to the center of the picture, the flowers—or the choice being made.
