the portuguese prison photo project
provides an insight into seven contemporary prisons of Portugal. From the largest and oldest dating back to the 1880s to the newest ones opened in 2004, these estabelecimentos prisionais represent around a quarter of all detention places.
The photographs have been shot by a Portuguese (Luis Barbosa) and a Swiss photographer (Peter Schulthess) in 2016/2017.
Their photographic approaches offer two completely different views.
Their photographic approaches offer two completely different views.
The exhibition was presented in 2017 in the former prison building of Porto which accommodates today the Portuguese Center of Photography (CPF). www.prisonphotoproject.international
The following pictures shows the exhibited photographs from Peter Schulthess
(vernissage, during the exhibition and the first guided tour).
(vernissage, during the exhibition and the first guided tour).
Room 1: Common Room
In this impressive large room I wanted to show the architectural diversity of my four visited prisons (Estabelecimento Prisional de Lisboa, Estabelecimento Prisional da Carregueira, Estabelecimento Prisional de Santa Cruz do Bispo (feminino)
and Estabelecimento Prisional de Izeda).
In this impressive large room I wanted to show the architectural diversity of my four visited prisons (Estabelecimento Prisional de Lisboa, Estabelecimento Prisional da Carregueira, Estabelecimento Prisional de Santa Cruz do Bispo (feminino)
and Estabelecimento Prisional de Izeda).
Room 3 ("The Details")
The pictures in this room give an insight of monotonous daily life and the strongly regulated system of the prisons of Portugal, as I have seen it. On the walls, there are 27 photographs which depict different aspects: the nature of one prison, spiritual care, sport, schooling and education, food, work, phone calls, canteen, visits and RAI – the sections with a little less security and more freedom.
The pictures in this room give an insight of monotonous daily life and the strongly regulated system of the prisons of Portugal, as I have seen it. On the walls, there are 27 photographs which depict different aspects: the nature of one prison, spiritual care, sport, schooling and education, food, work, phone calls, canteen, visits and RAI – the sections with a little less security and more freedom.
