As a young girl navigating the muddy lanes of a Flemish farming community, Eva Verbeeck spent her evenings sketching futures she could only glimpse from afar. The wider world beyond Belgium’s borders felt like a distant myth—especially the pulsating, unpredictable energy of American adolescence. Decades later, that childhood curiosity evolved into a sustained photographic project, one that positions Verbeeck behind the lens to explore a question both simple and profound: who do they dream of becoming?
Her series, quietly gaining traction across cultural platforms, turns its focus on teenage girls across the United States. From the sun-drenched suburbs of California to the close-knit communities of the Midwest, each portrait is accompanied by a candid reflection on aspiration, identity, and the pressures of growing up in a hyper-connected age. The project does not merely document faces; it listens. Each subject is invited to articulate their personal horizon, resulting in a mosaic of ambitions that range from the poetically ordinary to the defiantly ambitious.
A Transatlantic Perspective
Verbeeck’s unique vantage point—shaped by her upbringing in rural Belgium and her subsequent immersion in American culture—infuses the work with a rare cross-cultural sensitivity. While many documentary photographers turn their cameras inward, Verbeeck approaches her subjects with the curiosity of an outsider who has become an insider by degrees. This perspective allows her to frame the girls not as stereotypes, but as individuals negotiating the space between expectation and self-determination.
The project’s title question echoes through each frame. One teenager speaks of wanting to rewrite the narrative of her family’s farming legacy; another dreams of coding apps that amplify marginalized voices; a third envisions a life on stage, using theatre as both refuge and platform. These ambitions are set against backdrops of bedroom walls strewn with posters, basketball courts after school, and quiet kitchen tables at dawn. The imagery is deliberate in its ordinariness, refusing the sensational in favour of the authentic.
Voices in Focus
Central to the series is the act of listening. Verbeeck spends time with each girl prior to shooting, engaging in conversations that range from favourite music to college aspirations, from family dynamics to fears about the future. This rapport translates into portraits that feel earned rather than staged. The girls’ eyes meet the camera with a mix of vulnerability and resolve, a visual testament to the formative nature of this life stage.
One image features a sixteen-year-old from Atlanta, guitar in hand, discussing how she hopes to fuse traditional folk melodies with electronic beats. Another captures a fifteen-year-old from Detroit, standing beside a refurbished bicycle, talking about urban planning and sustainable cities. Each story is distinct, yet collectively they illustrate a generation grappling with both heightened opportunity and unprecedented scrutiny. The project avoids didacticism, instead presenting a gallery of dreams in progress.
Craft and Context
Technically, the series employs a mix of natural lighting and intimate composition, favouring authenticity over polish. Verbeeck often forgoes elaborate styling, allowing the girls’ own clothing, accessories, and environments to speak. This approach aligns with a broader trend in contemporary photography that prioritises narrative integrity over aesthetic perfection. The resulting images feel both timeless and immediate, a balance that resonates with audiences across continents.
The project also subtly engages with broader societal conversations. By centering teenage girls—demographic often relegated to the margins of mainstream media—the work challenges prevailing narratives about youth, gender, and agency. It asks viewers to consider how geography, socioeconomic status, and cultural background shape the architecture of a dream, and who gets the space to imagine one.
Why it Matters
In an era defined by rapid social change and digital saturation, Verbeeck’s project offers a grounded counterpoint. It reminds us that the simple act of asking a teenager about their future can yield complex, beautiful, and urgently needed insights. As societies worldwide grapple with shifting definitions of success, identity, and belonging, these portraits serve as both a mirror and a window—reflecting the hopes of a specific generation while inviting broader reflection on the environments that shape those hopes. The work endures not only as a photographic record but as a testament to the power of curiosity, empathy, and the enduring human impulse to imagine what lies beyond the next horizon.
