AKIMOVA N.
IN PROGRSS
AGE 23
I AM A PRINCESS
"I am a princess" is a project about growing up, built around my childhood questionnaire of the same title. It creates a dialogue between my five-year-old self and who I am now, reflecting on how my perception of the world has shifted—which dreams came true, what changed, and how my reality transformed.
In my work, I explore themes of trauma, nostalgia, crisis, and life’s transitional moments. Growing up is one of those pivotal shifts—the point where one is no longer a child but not fully an adult yet either. It’s when rose-colored glasses break, some dreams shatter, and life becomes more complex. Yet, it also opens up new possibilities, allowing one to become the person your younger self only imagined.
At 20, as I fully stepped into adulthood, I felt my inner child resisting—throwing tantrums over paperwork, bills, and responsibilities. I realized how much I missed that carefree time and felt the need to reconnect with it.
Returning to my hometown, I found my old "I am a princess" questionnaire and knew it was the perfect tool for this dialogue. It helped me reflect on this moment of transition, preserving the lightness and wonder of childhood while acknowledging what was lost and gained.
The project combines entries from the questionnaire, along with childhood photos, drawings, and postcards, representing my younger self. In contrast, the adult side features current photos, scanned documents, tickets, and other artifacts of grown-up life. Together, these images form diptychs that juxtapose childhood dreams with the realities of adulthood, mapping the evolution of my identity over time.
In my work, I explore themes of trauma, nostalgia, crisis, and life’s transitional moments. Growing up is one of those pivotal shifts—the point where one is no longer a child but not fully an adult yet either. It’s when rose-colored glasses break, some dreams shatter, and life becomes more complex. Yet, it also opens up new possibilities, allowing one to become the person your younger self only imagined.
At 20, as I fully stepped into adulthood, I felt my inner child resisting—throwing tantrums over paperwork, bills, and responsibilities. I realized how much I missed that carefree time and felt the need to reconnect with it.
Returning to my hometown, I found my old "I am a princess" questionnaire and knew it was the perfect tool for this dialogue. It helped me reflect on this moment of transition, preserving the lightness and wonder of childhood while acknowledging what was lost and gained.
The project combines entries from the questionnaire, along with childhood photos, drawings, and postcards, representing my younger self. In contrast, the adult side features current photos, scanned documents, tickets, and other artifacts of grown-up life. Together, these images form diptychs that juxtapose childhood dreams with the realities of adulthood, mapping the evolution of my identity over time.
MIXED-MEDIA
2021
