making of smoking kids expo frieke janssens

A YouTube video of a chainsmoking Indonesian toddler inspired me to create this series, “Smoking Kids“. The video highlighted the cultural differences between the east and west, and questioned notions of smoking being a mainly adult activity. Adult smokers are the societal norm, so I wanted to point the viewer’s focus on the issue of smoking itself. I felt that seeing children smoke would have a surreal impact on the viewer and compel them to truly see the acts of smoking rather than making assumptions about the person doing it. Coincidentally around the time of the gallery opening of “Smoking Kids“, a law was passed that banned smoking from Belgian bars. There was an outcry from the public about government intervention, feelings that freedom was being oppressed, and that adults were being treated like children? With health reasons driving many cities to ban smoking, the culture around smoking has a retro feel. It’s like a throw back to the ’Mad Men’ era when smok