Szálló Statement

Szálló means hostel or accommodation in Hungarian. The series was inspired by the serious social changes which were affecting Hungary during the nineties after the end of communist rule. Photographed at the Práter Utca and Bánya Utca shelters and various other locations in Budapest, Hungary, over six months in 1997, it was made possible with the help of the Menhely Alapítvány (Shelter Foundation). It is a series mainly of portraits with some interiors and exteriors for context, showing a group of people living rough or in sheltered accommodation at the time. There were then some 9,000 homeless in the city. Current estimates suggest the same today.