Photo Essay ~ Where Children Sleep ~ NY Times

[MattSh]

It was a small room, at the top of the house. For a time, it was home to tropical fish. Later, two pet mice slept there, in a home made of fruit crates. The walls of the room were covered with posters of Madonna and Duran Duran. Then it was the Rolling Stones. Then Jimi Hendrix.

This was the childhood bedroom in Oxford, England, of James Mollison, 37, a documentary photographer who was born in Kenya and now lives in Venice. He had the luxury as a boy of adapting his bedroom to reflect his changing interests.

“As a child, that’s your little space within the house,” Mr. Mollison said.

Mr. Mollison’s new book, “Where Children Sleep,” had its origins in a project undertaken for a children’s charity several years ago. As he considered how to represent needy children around the world, he wanted to avoid the common devices: pleading eyes, toothless smiles. When he visualized his own childhood, he realized that his bedroom said a lot about what sort of life he led. So he set out to find others.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/where-children-sleep/

[Brickbat]

1. Devastating. K&R.

[Chimichurri]

2. k&r

[woo me with science]

3. Wow. Those are tremendously powerful pictures.

Thank you for posting this link. K&R

[blueamy66]

20. very powerful at best

nt

[pnwmom]

4. Stunning photos. n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

5. One of the most frightening to me was Joey, the hunter, from Kentucky.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Before readying the caption I thought CHILD SOLDIER

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. I had same feeling about that picture.

[Brickbat]

13. Why?

[Pithlet]

18. Why?

Gee, that's a tough one...

[handmade34]

6. thought provoking...

one comment "We look at these photographs through the filter of our culture..."

makes me remember my bedrooms of long ago

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. It did not show enough AMERICAN poverty, IMO

[angstlessk]

9. I agree n/t

[jwirr]

10. Yes, I am sure that we have some children sleeping on floors or

on a mattress in a homeless area here in the US. The one of the pregnant child was so revealing. These children are not only extremely poor they are also vulnerable. The hunter from Kentucky was also disturbing. My grandchildren also hunt from an early age put we do not let them amerce their entire existence in a military lifestyle.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. I get it using cammo while hunting

but wearing it for a photo, I thought child soldier... that is what went through my mind,

[jwirr]

14. Unfortunately you could be right - he may be being raised to be one

of our militia. We do have whole families living out in the wilds training for war against our own government. Have had for years. But on the other hand the family may be a real military family and he just wants to be like dad or mom. When my sil was in the military my little grandson pretended all the time.

I am glad that series of photos was posted. It puts real perspective on our little problems. Not that they are not serious but even I who am mostly poor (as an American) could see that it could be a lot worse.

It is 1:45 in the morning and my grandson just came out of the bedroom and ordered me to get to bed. So I guess I had better do just that. Good night DU.

[_ed_]

15. When the sick fucks in BOTH parties start talking about

how people "don't pay any taxes," this is who they mean.

[GCP]

16. They mostly look sad

I wonder if the photographer instructed them not to smile.\, or if this is how they feel most of the time. It's a very sad slide-show IMHO. How well we humans look after each other :sarcasm:

[Douglas Carpenter]

17. now that's a pretty heavy dose of reality

[OneGrassRoot]

19. Thank you for this, and I love your site. :) K&R n/t