Being a teenager is hard. Being a teenage artist isn’t easy either. But a new art collective in L.A. is helping young artists all across the country have their voices heard. Cherry Bomb Collective is a project started by three high school students — Sophie Bergeron, Maya Latzer, and Hanna Wildermuth — who noticed their peers shutting down emotions when they couldn’t find a way to express themselves. Their second gallery show features 30 artists using everything from photography to music and needlepoint, with each work riffing on the same theme: the fear and excitement of young love. “Being a teenager comes with a lot of growing pains,” Cherry Bomb tells i-D. “Along with those growing pains come new unusual feelings. You begin to experience love in a way that isn’t just platonic, and it can be scary and confusing. It’s hard to understand young love and there’s no perfect way to describe it. “
The artists are a mix of friends, friends of friends, and people they met on the internet. 18-year-old Moose Benthall takes 35mm photos of her boyfriend in Texas while coping with the fact that they’ll soon be dating long-distance. 17-year-old Andrew Muccitelli has created an original music composition titled “The Virgin and the Archer.” Jackie Radinsky’s short film Peripeteia is a humorous beach date dreamscape. “We believe that showing and sharing art has the power to positively influence everyone in our world, but especially the youth,” say Sophie, Maya, and Hanna. “We believe that tapping into raw and real thoughts and emotions are the key to raising awareness, spreading love, and uniting future leaders.”
“A Nite of Young Love” opens Saturday, April 1 at Junior High in Los Angeles.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Images courtesy of Cherry Bomb Collective