Where Children Sleep Book Explores Privilege And Poverty Around The World

Millions of people from around the world are currently experiencing very different childhoods. Some are living in abject poverty, lacking basic food and sanitation, while others are more fortunate by being born in a country where those things are guaranteed and usually taken for granted.

When photographer James Mollison was asked to come up with an idea for engaging with children’s rights, he found himself thinking of his bedroom: how significant it was during his childhood, and how it reflected what he had and who he was.

And with that, he made it his mission to create Where Children Sleep – a collection of stories about children from around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms.

Bilal, 6, Wadi Abu Hindi, The West Bank

QiOW2lR

3CVnpM8

Indira, 7, Kathmandu, Nepal

eYmZDT4

zQytsZh

Ahkohxet, 8, Amazonia, Brazil

6eD3n6V

Pm8EBvk

Dong, 9, Yunnan, China

sKCv5me

42xT1bd

Anonymous, 9, Ivory Coast

Uy4st6M

K45nzAD

Alex, 9, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

R5IqYDs

bfHqqkm

Bikram, 9, Melamchi, Nepal

2lPYmVX

5yYoK3f

Tzvika, 9, Beitar Illit, The West Bank

wVwnErQ

qKs9X4w

Douha, 10, Hebron, The West Bank

qRqCEsv

I02JMyd

Joey, 11, Kentucky, USA

GQeOnRE

EYGhnaJ

Lamine, 12, Bounkiling village, Senegal

fcjc6uJ

cuNPeNH

Rhiannon, 14, Darvel, Scotland

mi7vPyz

aUqDOmJ

Risa, 15, Kyoto, Japan

cm0iP2C

qz5bTol

Netu, 11, Kathmandu, Nepal

2QroTZi

Inside the book, each pair of photographs is accompanied by an extended caption that tells the story of each child.

“It occurred to me that a way to address some of the complex situations and social issues affecting children would be to look at the bedrooms of children in all kinds of different circumstances”, James Mollison says on his website.

“From the start, I didn’t want it just to be about ‘needy children’ in the developing world, but rather something more inclusive, about children from all types of situations.”

We think he did an incredible job of doing just that. If the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ was ever true, then the pictures above say more than anyone ever can.

You May Also Like