Monica Merva

Blue Socks (Hungary)
color print
16 x 21.5 in.

Briggita, Hungary
color print
16 x 21.5 in.

Eva, Hungary
color print
16 x 21.5 in.

I photographed these children in and around their home, a government housing compound in Fot, Hungary using a Contax medium-format camera and natural light. The shots are not set-up or posed so as to avoid sentimentality and preserve the authenticity of what I witnessed, a community of disenfranchised children living together as a family.

As a photographer I have always been interested in capturing the culture of a community. As a first generation American of Hungarian descent, my interest in Gyermekkozpont is personal. I spent my childhood summers in Hungary, speak the language, and have extended family there. My focus on Gyermekkozpont comes from understanding that one’s sense of community comes with a sense of place.

© Monica Merva