Photography book review: Hidden Identities: Unfinished, By Yvonne de Rosa

Hidden Identities: Unfinished documents part of a project with Hope and Homes for Children, an international charity that works to prevent the breakdown of families and to ensure children grow up in a loving environment.

The charity’s co-founder, Mark Cook, invited London-based Italian photographer Yvonne De Rosa to meet some of the orphans he was working with in his attempt to transform them from having “hidden identities” to becoming respected and recognised human beings. For the book, De Rosa decided to create two particular case studies: children in Bosnia and Romania. Her photographs powerfully communicate the strength of character these children have developed as well as their sense of personal pride, community spirit and human kindness.

De Rosa said: “I believe in the importance of the family unit to build a happy and healthy life. The people I met were amazing, but living in terrible conditions, fighting every day for their survival.”

Artist and film-maker Sam Taylor-Johnson contributes an introduction.