Photographer James Mollison has a talent for highlighting the peculiarities of different cultures by portraying similar situations in different contexts. In his book Where Children Sleep Mollison portrayed children from all over the world—from China, to Kenya, to Brazil—in their bedrooms surrounded by their toys and possessions. And he’s done it again with his new book, Playground, which examines school playgrounds around the world.
Inspired by his own memories of playing during school breaks, the Kenyan-born photographer has captured the little tragedies and comedies of child’s play. In schools around the world, Morrison’s camera is able to illustrate the different ways childhood’s various joys and inequalities play out according to where his young subjects live.
Hull Trinity House School, Hull, UK
Valley View School, Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya
Aida Boys School, Bethlehem, the West Bank
Holtz High School, Tel Aviv, Israel
Dechen Phodrang, Thimphu, Bhutan
Utheim Skole, Kårvåg, Averøy, Norway
Shohei Elementary School, Tokyo, Japan
Inglewood High School, Inglewood, California, US
St. Mary of the Assumption, Elementary School, Brookline, Massachusetts, US
Kroo Bay Primary, Freetown, Sierra Leone
