The exhibition "In Their Place" is a socially significant study by Vladimir Karamazov on the theme of freedom as a primordial human right that moves the world. At the core of the idea is the individual interpretation of freedom and life situations that engage us in a rethinking of the definition of the concept.

"This is a journey I took into a territory I knew nothing about and definitely feared. But I didn't want my knowledge to reach what I heard and saw in the movies. I wanted myself to touch, my eyes to see and my ears to hear. A remarkable, very complicated and important year in my life," says actor and photographer Vladimir Karamazov about the exhibition, which opens on April 15 at the Palace.

The 81 photographs, video and audio installations, as well as authentic objects and objects from prison cells, represent prisoners serving one of the harshest sentences - life imprisonment without the right to pardon - behind the bars of Belene prison.

"This project gave me another point of view," Karamazov says, making the caveat that he is not committing anyone to it. "But I have a position and it is important for me to express it. Because expressing a position is a freedom that no one can take away from us. If you have the senses to accept it, it will make you think. If it is unacceptable to you, just ignore what you see," says the artist.

Karamazov extends an invitation to anyone who is interested in photography and anyone who wants to take a peek inside a Bulgarian prison and look the imprisoned people in the eye. | BGNES