Bubblegum: Photographs that celebrate the freedom, innocence and joy of youth

Entitled Bubblegum, Emily started taking portraits of children and teenagers on a beach in New York State in the summer of 2013. Explaining her thinking behind the project, she said: "The transience of youth has always been a popular theme in the history of western painting. In the symbolic language of this tradition, bubbles represent the transience of life.

"The Bubblegum series responds to this by using bubblegum as a practical way of drawing a fabulously diverse range of facial expressions from its young subjects. In doing so, the series reminds us that youth is not only to be celebrated as something brief but to be enjoyed for its spontaneity and individuality."

Emily gets hugely excited about light, tone and colour in photography and has always been drawn to the boundless energy and honesty of children. She currently photographs people of all ages, often for commercial clients such as MTV, Vice and Puma.

For more information about Emily and her work, visit www.emilystein.co.uk. You might also be happy to know that her series will be published in a new book, coming soon courtesy of Hoxton Mini Press.