A series of photographs taken over a seven-year period, entitled Bánya (The Mine), explores the diverse interconnections between a rural Hungarian village and the mining activity in the region. George Booth-Cole first visited the village of Bugyi in 2017, where he built relationships with farmers, traders and other locals, conducting interviews and documenting their personal and professional lives.
In an era of rapid economic change and government corruption, the series documents the life of a community that, like many other rural areas, has lost its agricultural practices and traditions.
“It has been seven years since I first visited Bugyi. The people in the pictures have opened up their lives to me. They have allowed me to witness and document their everyday relationship with a system that condemns their daily livelihood to death.”
The opening of the exhibition will also feature a documentary film on the same subject, made by Dávid Mikulán over the course of two years.
George Booth-Cole has produced a 244-page rhizograph artist’s book of the project, 170 numbered copies, published by Club Del Prado, which will also be available from ISBN+.