The Keleti Railway Station
The Keleti Railway Station in Budapest is the busiest passenger rail hub in Hungary. It is known simply as the Keleti (Eastern) to locals so as to foreigners because of its routes servicing Romania and acting as a gateway to the Balkan Peninsula.
From dusk until dawn the Keleti is flooded with people from all walks of life – businessmen and women rushing to and from work, students going back to their hometowns in the countryside for the weekend and sleep-deprived tourist backpackers and vagabonds are just some of the characters you will see each day.
Inside the bustling station is a mish-mash of scents with fresh fruit and bread aromas blended with flamed arabic kebab steak. Newspaper and drinks vendors inside the station pass the time between serving customers by playing cards or chess while a gaggle of shady characters try to harrass tourists with promises of discounted foreign exchange rates. The odd haggered looking vagabond with their hand out begging for some coins is also a comment sight.
Established in 1884 the Keleti was once a shining example of progress in Hungary, but a century later the image of the station and its surroundings had sunk to an unsavoury one, with muggings at knife-point, crime and poverty all rampant.
In 2014 the Keleti underwent a massive redevelopment program and establishment of the new metro line, which has improved the image of the area. The accompanying photo essay was shot in 2014 as construction was ongoing. My goal was to document the changing face of the Keleti and capture a time period that would soon be lost forever as the decay and dirt of the old station surrounding was replaced with fresh cement and steel - a homage to the past and present of a Budapest icon.
When I think of the neighbourhood of the Keleti station it makes me think that more than two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, Hungary is still trying to find its feet after socialism. The effects linger on. Glimpsed through the windows of the old trains that ferry passengers to dilapidated estates around the country. Seen on the wrinkled faces of the old men and woman at the station whose eyes have seen years of their country under socialist rule. Hungary is a country that is still trying to claw itself a new identity. And it is a visual reminder for me of our past being built over with a new shiny facade.
May 1st
On May 1st each year in Hungary we celebrate our National Labour Day holiday. It’s a day when families across the country come together, usually outdoors enjoying the springtime sunshine.
In the countryside villages tiny amusement parks and attractions pop up which are manned by small armies of vendors who hawk all manner of goods, from cotton candy to kitschy toys and souvenirs. Children ride the dodgems or the carousel and fire toy rifles at targets to win oversize cuddly toys. Usually you see three generations of families together, from grandparents to grandchildren enjoying the holiday together around the country.
The pictures were taken in my hometown in 2014 and with this series I tried to capture a typical countryside celebration of the National Labour Day in Hungary as I see it with all it's emptiness and its' once up to date but a nowdays decadent nature.
Pacsatüttös
Pacsatüttös in realty is a non-existing settlement of gypsies in the heart of Zala shire located in the southwest of Hungary. Once it became part of the nearest city, Pacsa has lost it's name, though people around are still referring to it as Pacsatüttös.
Thus it is as if its' people don’t exist on paper. In fact those who live there are fiercely private.Their lives are not caught up in the hustle and bustle of modern day Hungary.It’s a place where life is simple, where money and means for making it are scarce.
Many of the men who live in the settlement work odd jobs in Pacsa or in the neighbouring villages to scrape together some money. In the most part they are people who live on very little. Who tinker and make things with their hands. Who live closed lives, and who rarely open their doors to strangers. Though the children would often be out the whole day in the nature playing or cycling around the neighbourhood.
Israel, 2016
