seyma bayram

Family Bonds

In the winter of 2018-2019, I developed a documentary photo and text project that explored the impact of incarceration on family relationships as part of my thesis work at Columbia Journalism School. At the time, advocates in New York City and across the country were rallying around pretrial detention and cash bail reform. I rode the bus to Rikers Island, the notorious New York City jail where people sometimes wait years for their day in court, and met formerly incarcerated people and families on their way to visit their loved ones. I photographed them on the bus, in their homes and on their way to court and followed protests outside of city jails and inside the New York State Capitol. My project consisted of 31 images and a 3,100-word narrative. Below are the images I made during that time.