Created By
Maria Marshall
Camera Original : 35mm film. Edition 1/1
Curator
Luke Chapman
Maria Marshall’s “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Cooker” became a viral sensation not only for its provocative imagery—a two-year-old boy, digitally manipulated to appear as if he is smoking a cigarette—but also for the intense debates it sparked about childhood, innocence, and adult projection. The video’s unsettling realism, achieved through special effects and careful editing, led to widespread sharing and discussion online, where it was sometimes taken out of context and misinterpreted as an endorsement of child endangerment rather than a critique of parental anxieties and societal fears. In the tumultuous climate of internet misinformation, the video was even referenced in conspiracy-laden discussions, such as those involving Alex Jones and the Sandy Hook tragedy, where unrelated artworks and videos were weaponized to fuel false narratives. This out-of-context circulation amplified the video’s reach but also underscored the risks artists face when complex works are divorced from their intended meaning and used in broader, often harmful, cultural debates.
The work is primarily composed of three repeating shots. Each image shows a two year old boy smoking a cigarette, either in mid-shot or close-up. He sucks on the cigarette as its tip glows, parts his lips inhaling the smoke deeply into his lungs, and blows a perfectly shaped, billowing smoke ring at the viewer. Within twenty seconds of repetitive action, smoke fills the entire frame, providing the point at which the event loops. This twenty second loop is intimate, inviting and sensual despite the incendiary subject matter. The child invites the viewer’s gaze and returns it unequivocally in what appears to be a disconcerting endorsement of corruption. The video was shown at Manifesta 10 St Petersburg. 2007 and 2014 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2004 it appears on the front cover of Contemporary magazine.
Created By
Maria Marshall
Original Footage Directed by Laurie Castelli / Produced by Francis Castelli
1999
