Os recreios do mundo

Depois de há dois anos aqui ter deixado uma série fotográfica, de Gabriele Galimberti, sobre Brinquedos de crianças de várias partes do globo, agora trago uma nova série fotográfica, com um tema próximo, os Recreios (Playground) em várias partes do globo, por James Mollison. Esta série de Mollison, à semelhança da de Galimberti, é poderosa emocionalmente porque toca de forma muito direta memórias que todos possuímos, e por outro lado ao obrigar a um processo de comparação, instiga-nos a ir ainda ao fundo dessas memórias, para poder comparar em detalhe. Claro que podemos ler aqui componentes políticas e sociais de cada país, mas antes desse nível de significado temos, em essência, as crianças, as suas relações, e as suas vidas em cada um daqueles momentos. Aliás, é o próprio Mollison que o refere como objecto de partida para a série.

Dechen Phodrang, Thimphu, Bhutan

Stonyhurst College Lancashire, Uk

St. Mary of the Assumption Elementary School, Brookline, Massachusetts

"When I conceived this series of pictures, I was thinking about my time at school. I realized that most of my memories were from the playground. It had been a space of excitement, games,bullying, laughing, tears, teasing, fun, and fear. It seemed an interesting place to go back and explore in photographs.I started the project in the UK, revisiting my school and some of the other schools nearby. I became fascinated by the diversity of children’s experiences, depending on their school. The contrasts between British schools made me curious to know what schools were like in other countries.

Most of the images from the series are composites of moments that happened during a single break time—a kind of time-lapse photography. I have often chosen to feature details that relate to my own memories of the playground. Although the schools I photographed were very diverse, I was struck by the similarities between children’s behavior and the games they played." James Mollison

Cadet School of the Heroes of Space, Moscow

Kroo Bay Primary, Freetown, Sierra Leone

Utheim Skole, Kårvåg, Averøy, Norway

Holtz High School, Tel Aviv, Israel

Aida Boys School, Bethlehem, West Bank

He Huang Yu Xiang Middle School, Qingyuan, China

Shohei Elementary School, Tokyo

Valley View School, Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya

Inglewood High School, Inglewood, California

Pilgrim’s School, Winchester, UK

Seabright Primary School, London

Affiliated Primary School of South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China

Seishin Joshi Gakuin School, Tokyo