We often hear that one can tell a lot about another person through the items they collect. Well, it’s true, sometimes its enough to simply observe people’s lifestyles to know much about them. In 2010, South African-born John Thackwray started his long-term photography project, the “My Room Project,” to capture the exact essence of how people live and think differently.
What started as simple photos with John’s friends in Paris expanded into something much bigger. The idea of the project is very simple. Young men and women born in the 80’s and 90’s from all over the world were photographed in the places they sleep. These people are also interviewed about lifestyle, local issues, education, religion, or love. From France to Mexico to the MENA region, John managed to provide a diverse landscape for his upcoming book of these photographs.
Here are a few more peeks inside the rooms of people from the MENA region:
You can learn the most about someone from what you find in their bedroom and according to the photographer’s website,
“All these photographs are a testimony to the world that surrounds us. Combining visual anthropology and social photography, this conscious project make us aware of the diversity of lifestyles, destruction of our traditions and the rise of inequalities.”
Convincing people to let someone photograph them in their most private space wasn’t easy! So he used social media and NGOs, and rare random street approaches, to find the right people.
Each photo provides insight into how these people live. Each room accessory, or lack thereof, gives us tidbits of information on who these people are. You can see the rest of the photographs of the My Room Project, as they will be published in a book scheduled for late 2016, and are currently available for pre-order.
Let us know what you think and leave a smile 🙂 !
