Where Children Sleep

I am fascinated by Where Children Sleep, a picture book by James Mollison that tells the stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms. 

Inspired by the quote "all children are born equal" Mollison has created a collection of photographs which proves this statement to be incorrect. The kids are all between 4-17 but their backgrounds and futures couldn't be more different. There is Bilal, the Bedouin shepheard boy who sleeps with his father's heard of goats; Kaya in Tokyo whose proud mother spends $1,000 per month on her dresses; Indira, a Nepalese girl who has worked in a granite quarry since she was three years old and Ankhohxet, the Kraho boy who sleeps on the floor of a hut in the Amazon.


Mollison says: "When Fabrica asked me to come up with an idea for engaging with children's rights, I found myself thinking about my bedroom: how significant it was during my childhood, and how it reflected what I had and who I was. 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. 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. It seemed to make sense to photograph the children themselves, too, but separately from their bedrooms, using a neutral background. My thinking was that the bedroom pictures would be inscribed with the children's material and cultural circumstances ' the details that inevitably mark people apart from each other ' while the children themselves would appear in the set of portraits as individuals, as equals ' just as children. The book is written and presented for an audience of 9-13 year olds ' intended to interest and engage children in the details of the lives of other children around the world, and the social issues affecting them, while also being a serious photographic essay for an adult audience."


Check out some diptychs from the book below.

My Cup Of Tea

Vika Mitrichenka arrived in The Netherlands from Minsk, alone, on a tourist visa. Her choice of Amsterdam was no accident. She became fascinated by Holland's Golden Age while still at school, particularly by the realistic paintings of artists such as Johannes Vermeer and Pieter Hoogh. Having exhibited her work at Amsterdam's Rietveld Academie, she was promptly accepted onto a course. After the Rietveld, she approached the prestigious Rijksacademie (only 1 in a 100 hundred are admitted) – and was accepted immediately. 

The Frozen Fountain granted her an artistic assignment, and asked her to create a tea service – which was then immediately purchased by the Stedelijk Museum. For € 3650 this numbered edition tea service can be yours too.

Suddenly my mug of stale tea looks horribly ordinary. 

Bas Jan Ader

Bas Jan Ader was a Dutch artist. He became famous after his 'I'm Too Sad To Tell You', ’Fall I’ and ‘Fall II’ 16mm videos. In 1975 Ader embarked on what he called “a very long sailing trip”. The voyage was to be the middle part of a triptych called “In Search of the Miraculous,” a daring attempt to cross the Atlantic in a 12½ foot sailboat. A daring attempt to cross the Atlantic in a 12½ foot sailboat. He claimed it would take him 60 days to make the trip, or 90 if he chose not to use the sail. Six months after his departure, his boat was found, half-submerged off the coast of Ireland, but Bas Jan had vanished. 

Mary Ellen Mark

Not only is Mary Ellen Mark recognized as one of our most respected and influential photographers, she has created an incredibly large and diverse portfolio over the past four decades. Even though I had seen some of her editorial work, I didn't really investigate where all that came from until I saw this shot of The Dude:  

Thanks Mary Ellen Mark, that is really hot.

Scroll down for more amazing shots. Oh yeah, if you would like to be photographed by this lady you better save up. Commissioned portrait sittings with the rare and near 'extinct' 20x24 Polaroid camera start at 20K.

Toy Stories

This fun little project by Aled Lewis made me chuckle.

Meet me at the center of the earth

Thanks to my friend G. and her handy SAM membership, I went to see Meet Me at the Center of the Earth in the Seattle Art Museum. I was blown away by the creations from the hands of Chicago-based artist Nick Cave (no, not that one... it's the other Nick Cave).

This awesome exhibition is an invitation to meet the amazing creations that spring out of Nick Cave's imagination. Cave calls his wearable sculptures Soundsuits. I just call them a colorful and exuberant opportunity to see something different on a rainy day in Seattle. The exhibition runs through June 5th.

Corey Arnold Photography

So Max turned me on to this photographer and commercial fisherman named Corey Arnold who takes rad pictures while he is out on trawlers catching crabs and fish in the Bering Sea and other cold and dangerous places. All his work is pretty amazing, but we have been especially drooling over this one photo of a rugged and manly looking dude cradling his catch, which is by far the biggest salmon I've ever seen. 

© Corey Arnold

I just love this image and want it in my house to look at every day!


Here are some of his other works for you to check out.

© Corey Arnold

© Corey Arnold

© Corey Arnold

Pretty cool stuff if you ask me! Check out Corey's blog for updates and gallery shows near you.