Born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1979, Vladimir Karamazov came to photography in 2019 after a highly regarded career as an actor across cinema, television, and the stage. For the Grace of God is his inaugural photobook and it takes us into the notorious Belene Prison, located in northern Bulgaria on the border with Romania; the most heavily guarded facility of its type in the country. Deliberately situated on an island, escape is near impossible – and for that reason it has the largest number of people serving life sentences for murder in any Bulgarian prison.
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.
In 1961, following a technical assignment by the Ministry of Justice, Department ‘TPS and Prisons,’ the Council of Ministers issued decree No. 2284/12.05.1961 for the construction of Persin Island; a ‘ detention camp’. The former ‘camp,’ which was originally intended to house political prisoners, is now associated with the modern Belene Prison, which currently houses individuals convicted of offenses under the Penal Code, and was built in 1957-58.
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.
He explains, ‘Ordinary citizens in my country know nothing about prisons and have no real idea what it means to be confined or to serve a sentence of deprivation of liberty. That is why I wanted to show the project to the public — to open this door and reveal the reality, to tell the stories and demonstrate that a crime often has roots in childhood and that, very often, we as a society are also to blame because of our inaction.’
‘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.’
