Published by GOST - August 2026 240 x 300 mm 136 pages, 77 images printed 4 colour Hardback clothbound ISBN 978-1-80598-044-5
More about this book
Granted access, the first to have this for a photography project,Karamazov wanted to connect with these men and learn their stories and the reasons that led to their crimes. He took the photos over a calendar year getting to know both inmates past and present; their jailers, and others working at the facilities.
The images in the book (taken from October 2023 to November 2024) depict the architecture of the prison, the barbed wire fences, bricks and mortar of the exterior walls and the snowed drift on the edges of the prison’s island home. At the heart of the book see portraits of the prisoners in their cells and with other inmates, from those serving life for murder to pickpockets, domestic abusers, gamblers, and thieves. Also inside the book are drawings, letters, poems and testimonies by the prisoners, gathered by Karamazov during his visits and during a long period of conversation. The works therefore offer a unique and rare glimpse into the world of those who live in Belene.
'Тhe people in the basement are just as real as those in the “light” outside. And one way to bring more light into the basement, to help more people come out into the light, is for someone to dare to open the door. I hope this book offers a different, humane perspective toward the most hated people, to show that they are human beings too.'
