Pubescent girls have always been the central theme of van Meene's work - the description and dramatic staging of the moment when girls physically and emotionally transform into women. Often, the models are captured in languid poses, sometimes undressed down to their underwear, and at times depicted in a state of helpless discomfort, their flesh pinched, wounded, and raw. Some have interpreted these images as presenting an erotic or even explicitly sexual view of childhood. However, since van Meene has also begun photographing boys - no longer exclusively girls - it has become clear that this eroticism is always of a purely abstract nature, aimed at examining the body as an object distinguished by specific tactile and sensual qualities. In van Meene's words: "I am primarily interested in things like the 'Lic.