BEAUTY: Photography--Ariko Inaoka

In 2009, Japanese photographer Ariko Inaoka started a project in which she photographs Icelandic twin girls Erna and Hrefna every year. Her lovely, ethereal portraits speak not only to how childhood turns to adolescence, but to the incredible, mystical bond between twins.

Inaoka writes:
“Erna and Hrefna are eleven-year-old identical twins from Iceland. I started to photograph them when they were nine years old in 2009, and this will be an ongoing project until they are sixteen years old. I will visit them every year. My intention for this project is to capture the very precious period of their growth from child to teenager, physically as well as psychologically. The relationship between identical twins is an interesting subject matter. I often hear that identical twins have telepathic connections. This is true of Erna and Hrefna. They are always together. They almost never fight with each other. Spending time with them, I feel such comfort in their companionship but at the same time I feel strange because I have never seen such a powerful connection between any two human beings. They say to me, ‘From time to time, we dream the same dreams.’”

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