Chris de Bode
(Netherlands)
"I have no opinion about others.
I base my opinion on what I see"
Project
Interview
Contacts
International photo exhibition "here i live"
Photo project
"I HAVE A DREAM"
All kids dream. Whether their home is. Every child dreams of acquiring their own place in this world where they can be themselves, without being restricted by their living conditions.
I would love to people realizing that we all have dreams which are similar. The big difference is where we are born. To which extend are we challenged to dream and use our imagination.
Main exhibitions
"One Meal a Day" St Martin in the Fields, London, UK, March 2017
"Food in a Fragile World" St Martin in the Fields, London, UK, Sept 2017
Awards
2014: Honorable mention for Unicef Award
2014: Prize winner The Other Hundred
2016: 2nd prize Lens Culture Portrait Award
2016: Alfred Fried Photo Award
2017: 1st prize Lens Culture Portrait Award
UGANDA, NORTHERN UGANDA
Eleven year old Willberforce runs along an unpaved road near his home in Northern Uganda where he lives with his parents and six siblings. He says: 'I want to be the fastest. I want my parents, my school and country to be proud of me. Every day I run. I dream of coming home with the biggest trophy.'
TURKEY, ISTANBUL
17 year old Baris peeks out from behind a theatre curtain. Baris dreams of becoming a famous actor. He lives in Istanbul and is active at his local theatre.
JORDAN, AMMAN
Fourteen year old Bartool smiles as she puts her head into a television made from a cardboard box. She says: 'I watch a TV show about a heart surgeon every week. She cures all her patients. I dream of being her, because my aunt has a heart problem too. I want to make her healthy again, just like the TV actress.'
INDIA, NEW DELHI
Kalyani has painted a plane onto a wall near her house. Kalyani is 13 years. She lives with her parents and two brothers in one of the slums in Delhi. She likes going to school and has big dreams. She believes that she will be married but she won't stay in the slum like her mother, caring for the children. "In the evening, when I see a plane flying overhead, I dream of being on board. I want to see the world, but I especially want to get out of the slum. As a flight attendant I will travel and literally fly away from my current life."
TURKEY, ISTANBUL
Dilan stands on the banks of the Bosphorus wrapped in a blue cloth. Dilan Kaya is 21 years old and lives in Istanbul. Since she was a young girl she has been dreaming of being free like a bird. Dilan is studying now and in her spare time she is working to enhance the future of others. "As long as I can remember I've dreamt of flying, to go where I want to go. As a woman, this is by not always obviously possible in my world. Now I am able to study now but I wish that every child would be able to do so."
UGANDA, GULU
Sarah practices her interview technique near her home in Gulu in Northen Uganda. She is 12 years old and dreams of becoming a radio news reporter. Radio is the most important means of spreading the news in Northen Uganda.
More photos of the project you can find here
— How did the idea of this project come to you?

— I was invited by a NGO Save the Children, to make a series on the dreams of children based on some of my previous work.
— Did something change in your mind?

— I started to realize that if a child grows up in a society where one is not challenged to use the imagination it can have a mayor impact on the future.
I sometimes need a break. Travelling the whole year round takes its toll. Especially on my social life. My family needs me.
— You also have other projects about children. Do you consider they live in a dangerous world right now?
— It depends were children grow up. But it is for sure that children are the first victims of war, famine and other disaster. Being most vulnerable. We should always protect the rights of children first!
— What can you suggest to everybody to save the animal's lives and wild nature with animal's natural habitats?
— We should share our precious planet with our animals. We as human species are the world's most aggressive predator, by far. We should tame ourselves and change our dominant behavior.
— According to your photo projects, you touch the most urgent problems of our time. And the problem of the attitude to animals is in the list. What did you feel taking photos of animal testings?
— The story on animal testing is one of many stories I produced. Sometimes we need to test on animals first. Many of the medicine we use nowadays benefited from this research. I believe we can do a lot more research with much less animal testing. Researchers should work more together and share results.
Stay tuned:
Whatsapp: +31614343174
E-mail: cdebode@gmail.com
web-site: www.chrisdebode.com