James Mollinson was born in Kenya and grew up in England. His work has been widely published throughout the world.
A well known series he created was ‘Where Children Sleep’. He displayed it as a book, where on the left page there was a portrait of a child, on the oppisite page is an image of where they sleep. He went across the world documenting these people and the places they call home.
It is interesting to look and compare how different each place is. Some rooms represent their personalities by the way they have decorated the space. Some also indicate their social status. It seems unfair that one child can have a big room with loads of belongings and another has just a blanket on the floor.
The book keeps the same layout throughout. The portrait is smaller on the left page and the room fills the right page. I think this is because the room is more meaningful in this series, it shows more context. The portraits are fairly simple as they are close up against a light grey background. This image alone can only show the viewer so much about who they are. With the other image, it starts to show a narrative.
I looked into why he documented this subejct. Mollinson decided to do this project as he wanted to engage with the topic of childrens rights. He wanted to represent the children in need but wanted to avoid the usual images you see on TV and adverts. A bedroom is normally the only space a child can call there own. Capturing their space is an effective way at showing the support the less fortunate children need, especially in comparison with the wealthy children.
I found this book intriging to look through. It is interesting that as they are taken around the world, you can also compare how different the cultrues are. There is so many things to compare and this is what I want to portay in my project. I think the viewer will also start to feel empathy towards the subejct which is effective as it will mean they are more enaged in the work. I do like Mollinsons style, where he uses dyptychs to show his narrative. I have tried similar techniques before but I would like to continue showing the person in their own space. This can show deeper meaning as you can look at how the subejct interacts in that space, instead of in front of a backdrop where they are likely to feel uncomfortable. From the ‘Where Children Sleep’ project I have learnt how important and impactful using the photographs as comparisons can be.
Lucy Davis 