I spent my ‘first day in prison’ staying all day long with the woman and girl prisoners listening carefully to their stories. I came from the other side of the bars and yet I saw the prison doors ‘open up’. I waited and waited…
It was not until the evening that I felt the tension, release… When the prisoners took their musical instruments to let themselves carried away by the magic of music. This was the moment when I felt ‘entitled’ to shoot my first pictures.
It all happened back in 1992. Since then, I have visited almost all Hungarian penal institutions. I had a chance to take pictures of women from all walks of life: young girls expecting babies, repeat offenders, women with a tragic fate, women with children who had killed their husbands for terrorizing their families.
My intention was to compile a ‘documentary’ of their everyday lives. To throw a light on how they make an effort in order to fill their cold and cruel lives with deep emotions. To survive, to make days in prison more bearable.
I trust the receivers of my photos will have an insight not merely into the rigorous prison routine, but will also encounter friendship, love and hatred shared by those behind the bars and those outside.
