James Mollison provides a free trip around the world to meet various children and see where places for their sleep.
This series “Where Children Sleep” allows the viewer to journey into the diversity of the world – the photographers takes you to different corners of the world and meet children whose images tell you so much about their life, the way they live and the way they are brought up.
While travelling through the images, I felt the big gap between poverty and financial wealth. I also feel various emotions from the models’ eyes. The diptych photos tell narratives that go beyond what the eyes can see. I love the showcase of how unique each country is, how everything influences the resting spot of a child. Some photos speak so much about being poor, not having something comfortable to sleep on. Others tell me about excess, about suffocation and materialism.
Where a child sleeps undeniably influences how he/she behaves and thinks. I remember sharing a mat to my sister. Growing up, we became so close that oftentimes people would think we’re comrades. I have friends who have spent most of their younger years enjoying the comfort of their own bedrooms; they behave differently than me when it comes to socializing and loosening up. This may not hold true for everyone but I’ve always found it fascinating how sleeping spaces can mean so much to one’s personality.
The kids’ rooms show not only where they sleep but what dominant factors affect them. You can see toys, soiled bed sheets, random stuff that their parents may have bought or passed on to them.
