Over a billion people – a sixth of the world’s population – currently live in slums. Worldwide urbanization and mass poverty have led to many people living a marginalized existence outside the official city limits.
Monotonous language is often used to depict slum life, with poverty, crime, want and misery predominating. In Places We Live Jonas Bendiksen puts himself at the centre of the home, amongst the creative décor, small ornaments and souvenirs, and asks the slum dwellers to recount their lives.
The overriding narrative is that of the human capacity to establish a normal life and create a home. Huge variations in the circumstances of individuals and personal style are unveiled, and our understanding of how we live in the twenty-first century is challenged.
