Born in 1990, Sengsong helped his brothers and sisters work the family farm in Udomxai province in Northwestern Laos before going to live in the orphanage in Luang Prabang. There he began his schooling, starting from scratch. Today he continues his studies in the orphanage school, devoting his free time to painting, photography and reading.
“I have always enjoyed taking close-ups of nature, 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 really grasped the problem of pollution and the colossal amount of man-made rubbish; I took masses of photos, which I showed to everyone to raise awareness. 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, especially packets of washing powder and shampoo bottles that collect at the natural bathing area. I actually get the impression there is nowhere unspoilt left on Earth. That’s why I warn the villagers back home about the impact of plastic on the environment. The link between pollution and all I’ve heard about global warming now seems self-evident to me.”
Françoise Huguier, curator
Text from the catalogue-book “Photoquai”, co-edited by Musée du Quai Branly- Actes-Sud
