SNS Locals feat. Banfa

Extraordinary times call for special actions and special people. After countless years our original Stockholm location has gone into a renovation, closing its doors for a well-needed brush-up. Over the next months, we moved the store one block up the street, and for the opening, we invited Stockholm-based photographer Banfa Jawla. His exhibition showcases the multi-talented Swede’s final exam project from 2018 dubbed “KATIM,” from Nordens Fotoskola, where he studied photography journalism. Read in Banfa’s own word about the extraordinary project; you can now check out at Sneakersnstuff Stockholm’s temporary location at Tjärhovsgatan 5.

RVSP for the exposition here.

"Katim is small enough to crawl under the car but far too young for the environment in which he is forced to spend his days. He is one of 168 million children who are forced to carry the role of an adult every day. He is 12 years old and works at a car repair shop six days a week, nine hours a day. Both his parents have been dead for several years, and for the most part of his life, he has been forced to take care of himself. He lives with his grandmother, uncle, and some other relatives on a farm near his workplace in Serekunda, a densely populated city in the Gambia, one of the world ́s poorest countries. As a child, growing up safely with care and education cannot be taken for granted. Where is the line drawn between being a child and an adult?"

“When people live in extreme poverty, many become desperate and are willing to do anything to support themselves. Millions of parents are forced to let their children work and beg lose the right to their childhood. Many of them spend long and hardworking days in homes, factories, fields, and on the street instead of going to school.” - UNICEF