Picture Before and after us (1)

Close

Sengsong

Born in 1990, Sengsong helped his brothers and sisters work the family farm in Oudomxay province in northwestern Laos, before going to live in the orphanage in Luang Prabang. There he began his schooling, starting absolutely from scratch. Today he continues his studies, devoting his free time to painting, photography and reading.

"I have always enjoyed taking close-ups of my surroundings, framing what I saw without any attempt at rearranging it: wrapping paper, plastic bags, shapes and colours coming together in a way I found interesting. It was only later, looking at the photos on the computer, that I saw how much rubbish there really was and how easy it was to find; and the more photos I took the more I enjoyed taking them to help others see.
I grew up high in the mountains in an unspoiled village, far from the road and even further from a market. Not many people went to town, so there was almost no rubbish. Now the village has changed; there is a lot more rubbish, especially the plastic packets from laundry soap and shampoo that collect at the natural bathing area. Now, I think, there is nowhere without rubbish. Now when I go back to the village I tell my family to be careful about using plastic and I have begun to think about all that rubbish and the things I hear about global warming."