Australian artist Polixeni Papapetrou trends the line between fantasy/theatre, mythology/reality, archetype/play, male/female, child/adult and animal/human. As with all her work the series The Dreamkeepers tells a story that includes her autobiographical relationship with her children, but it also says a lot more about the condition of childhood - its place in our culture and how we react to images of children in photography.

A tow car for the children's “Grand Prix” races which take place in a parking lot in Livonia, Michigan a suburb of Detroit, circa 1955. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

Children play after offering Eid al-Fitr prayers at Jama Masjid to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in the old quarters of Delhi, India on May 3, 2022. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)

Children dressed as chess pieces perform during an event organised ahead of the 44th Chess Olympiad 2022, in Chennai on July 26, 2022. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)

A woman dressed as an angel takes a break from greeting children at a public library in Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, on December 23, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP Photo)

Erik Ravelo goes straight for the jugular in his series, Los Intocables (The Untouchables). Depicting children in one the most vulnerable poses of all time, Ravelo attempts to speak for those who cannot properly articulate their pain. The sick, twisted games that adults play can come at a cost to future generations and Ravelo’s series gives a voice to those children who get caught in the crossfire.

Yawalapiti children play during the preparations for the celebration of “quarup”, a ritual held to honor in death a person of great importance to them, in the Xingu National Park, Mato Grosso State, May 7, 2012. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters)

Internally displaced Syrian children who fled Raqqa city stand near their tent in Ras al-Ain province, Syria January 22, 2017. (Photo by Rodi Said/Reuters)