Not all kids play in the same 'Playground'

Various scenes of laughter, tears, and games demonstrate the intense experiences which happen in the playground. For each picture, Mollison sets up his camera during school break time, making multiple frames and then composing each final photograph from several scenes, in which he finds revealing “play” narratives.

James Mollison’s exhibition, Playground, influenced by his own experiences being bullied in the schoolyard, gives us an international look at children at play. These photographs are from rich and poor schools with vastly different resource levels in countries including Bhutan, Bolivia, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Norway, Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. The photographs are accompanied by extended captions that tell of the conditions specific to each school.

Where some children are in classrooms so crowded that they need to climb over desks to move, others play in palace gardens.

The comparison invites us to think about the lives of our world’s children and the obstacles and privileges that influence their growth and ability to succeed. It also reminds us of our similarities as children play in similar ways throughout the world. While serious issues are raised, a fun and interactive element in the exhibition is a Where’s Waldo?-like game where the viewer searches the frame for a particular student illustrated on the image caption. There’s also an immersive (optional) sound component with field recordings of children at play. Playground is a wonderful platform for educational programming, prompting viewers of all ages to discus global diversity, inequality, and bullying.

With photographs from rich and poor schools, numerous middle schools, and some high schools, in countries including Argentina, Bhutan, Bolivia, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Norway, Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom, and the U.S., Mollison also provides access for readers of all ages to issues of global diversity and inequality.

The photographs will be available through Aperture Foundation. Sales proceeds support the Foundation’s public and book-publishing programs.

A free Teacher Resource is available for immediate download. For more information about Aperture’s educational resources, contact education@aperture.org.

CREDITS.-

Book.- Playground. Photographs by James Mollison.
Foreword.- by Jon Ronson.
Size.- 9 2/5 x 11 3/5 in. (23.8 x 29.4 cm).
Pages.- 136 pages and 59 four-color images.
Cover.- Hardcover.
ISBN 978-1-59711-307-6.
Prize.- $50.00/€42.00.
Dates.- April 2015.