The perks of being a grown-up

• Prize
• Photographer
  Felicia Simion, Romania
• Socials
• Website
  http://www.feliciasimionphotography.com

There comes a time in our childhood when we start to imagine what it
would be like if we were adults. As little kids, we look up to them,
thinking how much freedom they have - the freedom to wear all the
clothes they want, to stay up late or handle all those dangerous tools
we cannot even touch.
Meet Felix, my 5-year-old cousin, who is also part of this category. He
started talking about growing up a few months ago, telling me about
his dream jobs, like becoming an astronaut or an ice-cream vendor.
I began to watch his manhood wishes closely, paying attention to his
actions and gestures when he tried to imitate an adult being.
First, there was his "outrageous" desire to stop dressing up according
to the weather every single morning. So we went out in the courtyard
on a sunny day, a perfect day to walk barefoot in the pile of sand.
There I saw a little boy rejoicing over the shining sun, thinking that this
must be what an adult's life feels like.
Another day he took his father's coat and asked me to take photos and
make a film of him. He tried to act serious, but he couldn't find any
fancy pants, so he put on his sister's striped tights.
Felix always tries to interfere with the adults' talks and activities; he
wants to add sugar to the batter, mow the lawn or hang the washing
out. But he is instantly drawn back to his own world, a world without
real fears, anxieties and day-to-day chores.
I believe it will take him some time until he stops dreaming about
adulthood. And it will take me some time, too, until I stop dreaming
about being a little child again.

• Biography
  I am a 24-year-old visual artist and freelance photographer living in Bucharest, Romania, constantly looking for new ways to nurture self-expression. The roots of my love for art is to be found in my childhood and adolescence, when I engaged with painting, illustration, music and writing. At the age of 13 I irrecuperably fell for photography, whilst browsing online and coming across the works of both Magnum photographers and young visual artists, whom I felt inspired by. My interests concerning photography gravitate around having a fine art approach to each genre I focus on, from portraiture t
• Awards
  In 2016 I graduated from the Bucharest National University of Arts, Photography and Video department, and in 2018 I successfully finished an MA degree in Ethnology, Cultural Anthropology and Folklore at the University of Bucharest. In 2017 I was chosen to be one of the five young photographers to attend a photography residency in Deauville, France, which resulted in the creation of a project exhibited during the Planche(s) Contact festival. Also, in the same year, I was one of the finalists of the Saatchi Selfie competition, having my work shown during the "Selfie to Self-Expression" exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. In 2016, I was selected by PhotoBoite as one of their “30 under 30 Women Photographers”. Over the years, my work has been awarded or commended in competitions such as Paris Prix de la Photographie, Sony World Photography Awards, D&AD Photography Awards, Moscow International Foto Awards, IPA. My images have been published in print and online publications among which: The New York Times, Fisheye Magazine, The Pulitzer Center Blog, Der Spiegel, Calvert Journal, Lens Culture, Il Post.