Where is childhood?
In this photo essay, I am attempting to shed light on children who have lost their childhood. All of the children in these photos have been in this world for less than ten years. And yet, some have already been transformed into producers of commodities, while others are targets of an over-consuming society.
There are children wandering around every day, trying to find something to satisfy their hunger. They are often targeted for the exploitation through child labour to produce more convenient and low price products. Some others are drowning in excessive amounts of products, still feeling insecure and disconnected from their family or friends. Some others are thrown into harsh competitions for better education, better ranking, and better affiliation, which leaves no time for them to embrace their lives as a child. Many children in Japan are wandering, searching for a place to play safely, while many playgrounds are being replaced by a theme park that charges 5 dollars every 15 mins. In Canada, I am shocked to learn that thousands of children were stripped from their families not too long ago and targeted for erasure. Their shoes are as little as my kids’ ones.
Their daily lives look entirely different at the surface. Still, they are all wandering in this unequal and distorted social structure of consumption and production, searching for life, safety, protection, and dignity at this very moment.
Where is childhood? What have adults done to them? What are we going to do?
