It probably has happened to you. One day, you find by chance in a random box one of those treasured possessions of your childhood: a broken die-cast car, a puppet, a book…Magical stuff that once was so powerful that it could suspend any distinction between dreams and reality.
What is fascinating about these objects is not only how they can enfold the memories of an entire world, or how they have managed to leave an indelible dent in ourselves, but also how much they can tell about us, and about the hopes, desires and dreams of those who bought them for us. For toys are also the stuff of which many expectations, norms and rules are made.
It is probably this fascination with toys, and their dual role as one of the most intimate and at the same time most social objects, populating our lives what has led the Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti to spend 18 months photographing kids around the world with their most treasured possessions.
The result is truly fascinating. You can check it here:
2013-03-24