© John Moses

The Youngest Parents John Moses Jocelyn Lee May 28 - September 19 1998

© Jocelyn Lee

Photographers John Moses and Jocelyn Lee share portraits of young parents and their children in The Youngest Parents. These portraits of young parents in their homes and backyards convey images of capable and caring young mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers along with images of nervous new parents who seem unprepared for their new responsibility. What results from these intimate portraits is a document of the rich complexity of lived experience, avoiding easy stereotypes about class, race and maturity.

John Moses, a professor of pediatrics at Duke University, spent eleven years documenting teenage parents in North Carolina counties, including Durham and Orange. Jocelyn Lee is a professor at the Maine College of Art and worked for six years in parts of Texas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Nova Scotia, living and working with young mothers. Friendships of support and caring developed between the photographers and their subjects over time. The trust resulting from this friendship deepens the character and meaning of the work.