Dawoud Bey’s portraits in Class Pictures explore the aspirations, fears, and self-perceptions of high school students, capturing both their individuality and the shared challenges of adolescence. These works are accompanied by personal statements written by the subjects, offering a profound connection between the viewer and the person portrayed.

Christopher expresses the tension between self-perception and societal expectations:

“I think I come off as a bad person, ‘cause when I get around people, I don’t know I kind of ball up into a shell and don’t really voice myself when I should, ‘cause I’m so affected by what people think of me that I don’t wanna, like, give them the stereotype of a young person my age. Stereotype would be: don’t know nothin’, probably ain’t goin’ to be nothin’. … So that’s frustrating because if somebody think you’re dumb, and you know you’re not dumb, you’re gonna want to tell them, but the police, if you try to … you know what I’m saying … get out of line with them, they hit you or somethin’, so really I kept my mouth shut.”

Bey’s integration of their voices with his compelling portraits invites viewers into an empathetic dialogue, offering a layered and deeply personal exploration of identity and representation.