Photographer Catarina Araujo presents an exhibition about mothers and children in prison

Photographer Catarina Araujo Ribeiro opens on Friday in Lisbon an exhibition dedicated to the reality of children who live with their mothers in Tires prison and who “can help” think about society and childhood.

“This story is worth knowing because it is not a common reality. Even in the justice sector, not everyone has direct contact with the reality of these children who live with their mothers in prisons,” said Catarina Araujo Luse.

The photographer spent three months with imprisoned mothers and children, with permission from the prison service, to carry out in-depth work with women and children, with access to “cells that even lawyers don’t know about.”

The photo exhibition “Punctum – being a child behind bars” will be on view at the Fábrica do Braço de Prata (Wolf Room) starting next Friday.

There are currently 17 children living in the Tyrese wing of the prison, with each mother living in a separate cell with a bathroom.

“I have met mothers who, despite the context, the place where they live and the fact that they are theoretically a danger to society and therefore in prison, are caring mothers, taking care of their cells as if they were “rooms” ” ‘, decorated with photographs, children’s names, dolls. They make the atmosphere welcoming and caring,” said the photographer.

One of the portraits shows what appears to be a very young mother looking into the camera lens with her newborn son in her arms.

Another backlit image shows another mother and her son walking backwards down a hallway, with detail in the shadows and light in the background as they head towards it.

Catarina Araujo stressed that she did not want to know what sentences the photographed mothers were sentenced to and preserved the identities and images of the children, some of whom were born in prison.

“Regardless of whether they are prisoners, they are mothers who care, play and breastfeed,” the author of the photographs described.

By law, children can remain in the company of their mothers until they are three years old.

“Many of these children were born in prison and do not know that there is another world outside the prison walls. Despite all this, they disarm us with joy. They are children just like children everywhere. This is the reality of those children who do this. I have no other support from my family other than growing up in prison,” the photographer added.

The exhibition is called “Punctum”, referring to the concept of the French philosopher and semiologist Roland Barthes (1915-1980), who “spoke” about the details of photographs that touch the viewer.

“I believe that these photographs are full of detail, and when we get an impact from a photograph, it begins to live in the one who sees it, and there is a certain “punctum” in these photographs that makes us think. This is the idea of ​​the exhibition. “, he explained.

According to the photographer, the exhibition also aims to show the role that “every person plays in society, and the legal restrictions that prevent the taking of images of children’s faces make observers identify more with children, because without seeing the faces, they can be themselves.” “

Catarina Araujo, photographer, has a degree in sociology, a master’s degree in the sociology of crime and violence, and a graduate degree in criminal sciences. She conducted research on juvenile delinquency and child sexual abuse and recalled that in Europe “at least two million children have one of their two parents in prison.”

The photo exhibition can be visited until October 28.