Prison photography – compelling images from South Africa and beyond

One of the photos in Mikhael Subotzky’s prison series (Photo: subotzkystudio.com)

Learn more about prison life through these powerful photographs.

Pollsmoor prison photography by Mikhael Subotzky (Click on the “Next” link under each photo)

Cruel and Unusual: A gripping look behind prison walls (Visit this virtual version of an exhibition which features the works of several photographers  and highlights issues such as child prisoners in Burundi, Russia and the USA. Click on the “View exhibition” or “Photo Viewer” camera icon to navigate through the images)

Women in [Prison] Photography, curated by Pete Brook (Brook is renowned for his studies on prison photography)

Photos taken by inmates in Tirgsor, a women’s prison in Romania

Pregnant in Prison by Mark Allen Johnson

A different perspective on solitary confinement by renowned aerial photographer Christoph Gielen

Inside San Quentin Prison – a Reuters photo essay about life in a California prison