David Goldblatt asks himself who really are the people beyond the criminals; " Monsters? Ordinary People? Could be my children? Are they like you and me? I wanted to go beyond the statistics, meet personally some offenders, photograph them and hear from their own lips the stories of their lives and actions". All the offenders pictured are people who had committed a crime or been accused of committing it. In this series the crime scenario has as much importance as the protagonist himself.
I chose the crime scenes. Places where probably both victims and criminals had experienced events that changed their lives. Hence these photos and stories of the people in it. Most were trying, often in desperately difficult circumstances, rebuild their lives. So I do not call them criminals or offenders, but ex-offenders. I paid each one involved about 80 euros and they have signed a document giving me permission to publish and exhibit the photographs and stories of their lives. I notice to each of my subjects that publication and exposure can damage their image in the future, and I've only gone ahead if they have clearly understood and agreed with it. I do not intend to make money with this work. Anything that can generate above galleries commission will go to organizations for education and rehabilitation of former prisoners.
Ex Offenders was exhibited at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011, but can be understood as part of a more global project that David Goldblatt has been developing during his career about his own country and its hard and complex conditions.
Inaguration: 20 September from 5.00pm to 10.00pm.
Venue: Elba Benítez C/ San Lorenzo 10 (Madrid), Spain.
