Where Children Sleep By James Mollison

Author words about his photos:
“Rhiannon’s home is a terraced house in Darvel, southern Scotland, a picturesque town which used to be famous for lace-making. She is fourteen years old and lives with her parents and brother. The area is now plagued by heroin addiction and gang violence. Her school is full pupils who have been expelled from schools in nearby Glasgow. Rhiannon has had a mohawk haircut like her parents’ ever since she was six. She and her family and friends are part the punk subculture and have formed a community support where they all look out for each other. They have become used to abusive behaviour from people in their neighbourhood. Rhiannon has suffered from bullying at school because her appearance, but fought back and is now left alone. She plays guitar, drums and bass, and also sings. Her father has his own band.”
“This seventeen-year-old teenager prefers to be known as ‘X’, after Malcolm X, the black activist. X lives in Complexo da Maré, a ‘favela’ near the airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where children from a very young age are coerced into declaring allegiance to one the gangs in the area. Failure to do so can lead to violent recriminations, or even death. X works as a mid-ranking lieutenant in the Comando Vermelho (‘Red Command’), a local drug-dealing gang. One his duties is to look after ‘soldiers’ (young gang members) who are positioned around the favela, monitoring police movements. Soldiers set f fireworks to alert the gang if police enter the area. X carries a handgun for protection but also has the use a powerful rifle, an AK-47, which he loves. His ambition is to be ‘boss the favela’. X has no fixed address. He moves around a lot, ten sharing a room with other gang members.”