Middlesex Senior Wins New York Times Photography Contest

Last week, Middlesex senior Taeya Boi-Doku ’19 was selected as a winner of the The New York Times international photography contest entitled “Show Us Your Generation.” The Times invited any person aged 13 to 19 years old to respond to the current media and adult stereotypes about their generation through photography. Students were asked to submit work that depicted an aspect of their teenage life that may be misunderstood, ignored or largely unknown. Nearly 2,200 students submitted their work and Taeya was one of only 36 winners.

Taeya’s winning photograph, along with her personal reflection on the piece, can be found on the Times’ website.

TaeyaBoi-Doku photograph

I think the most common misconception about my generation is our presumed lack of depth. We all have many sides that create who we are, we all have felt silenced and at the same time, we all have the capacity for joy.

This model is bathed in red, a color that depicts the violence, anger, and wildness put onto him by others. Yet, the light doesn’t distort his face entirely. It bounces off his skin, so radiant that it shapes the red light into the three silhouettes behind him. Those silhouettes are there to show a more holistic representation of the many facets of his person that no stereotype can fulfill. -Taeya Boi-Doku