Romanian photographer wins Sony World Photography award for photo of intimate room in prison

Romanian photographer Cosmin Bumbutz has won the prize in the Sony World Photography architecture category for his image of an intimate room at a Romanian penitentiary. Inspiration for the photograph came from reforms in Romania’s prison system following the country’s entry into the European Union in 2007, which saw prisoners who are married or in a relationship gain the right to receive a two-hour private visit from their partner every three months in a separate room inside the prison compound.

“If a prisoner gets married in detention he or she can spend 48 hours with the spouse in the special room and is allowed visits once a month in the first year of marriage,” Bumbutz said. “I started photographing the private rooms in 2008 and I have now photographed the private rooms inside all [35] Romanian penitentiaries.”

The winning photographs are on display at London’s Somerset House until 10 May.