While Team SPICE is thinking ‘Light and Shade’ this month, French photographer, Iris Della Roca has opened an exhibition of her cool work, “As the King is Not Humble, May the Humble be King” – a brilliant photoseries that sheds light on the career goals of children growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Currently on view at The Little Black Gallery in London, the exhibition sees children as young as 6 years old in feature – each styled to mirror their dream future, whether that makes them beautiful ballerinas to big bosses on the beach.
The children hail from one of the most dangerous places in the world, with photographer Iris having selected her subjects from Rio de Janeiro’s favelas – slum areas in Brazil that have for years housed high levels of gun crime and poverty.
Telling i.D Magazine how times are changing and improving in the favelas, Ms Roca explains how the children’s hopes for themselves aren’t too different from those growing up in other places of the world, saying;
“They all have their own unique personality, and the pictures are a kind of exaggerated form of who they are; behind the image that most people have of the poor favela kid, there is someone that is just waiting to show up.
For example, there’s a picture of a boss. I’ve known this little boy for six years now and I wasn’t surprised at all when he said to me that he wanted to appear as a boss in his picture, because he’s often telling everyone what to do and makes all of the decisions for his group of friends!
Meanwhile, the girl in the picture dressed as a diva sings day and night – she looks at herself 1000 times a day in the mirror and she doesn’t leave her house if she’s not totally made-up!”
We at SPICE love the shots and the playful styling involved, and suggest that anyone interested in the dreams of Rio de Janeiro’s youth should head to The Little Black Gallery from now till March 21st when Iris Della Roca’s “As the King is Not Humble, May the Humble be King” ends, though you can see some of the exhibition here, below;
Image source: Irisdellaroca.com