The Places We Live by Jonas Bendikson is a small book - almost pocketsize (certainly for my jacket pockets) - but it packs an enormous punch and is my favourite book of the year. It is a remarkable testimony to the hard work and dedication that Bendikson took to realise its completion, taking images of startling honesty and vibrancy that celebrate the people who live within appaling conditions throughout the world's slums. The word Slum, however, should be used very carefully in this context. To quote Andrew Dirango, one of the residents of Kibera in Nairobi, who Bendikson interviewed in order to place his photographs amongst the words of the people in them, "I don't know how you see my house, but to me it's beautiful. I appreciate it even if it is small." The human spirit is ever enduring and full of pride and life, and Bendikson's images portray this in abundance. As with all 4 of the slums that Bendikson visited, Kibera is one of the most overcrowded and destitute places in the world, as can be seen in the video below:
Aperture have done an exceptional job in the book's production, displaying each house photographed as a 4-sided, fold-out page, allowing the reader (if they should so wish - as I couldn't help myself) to lay the book upright, join the pages together and create a 'mini', almost 3-dimensional room. Beautiful! This book is certainly an inspiration to any photographer or any person with a social conscience.
