When Cages Fly (2024)

"When Cages Fly" is an unconventional photobook born from an unconventional story, captured inside Herat Women’s Prison in Afghanistan. The story behind it, "Where Prison Is a Kind of Freedom" was first published in The New York Times Magazine. It illustrates the lives of women who ended up in prison after taking drastic steps to escape abusive and violent marriages. The story won the Robert Capa Gold Medal in 2020 and became the foundation for this book, which looks at the fine line between freedom and captivity, both in a real and symbolic sense.

The book is divided into three chapters, with very little text, and comes with a separate booklet. "When Cages Fly"invites viewers to take part in shaping their own understanding of what they see. At the heart of the book is the middle chapter, which is sealed within a box. This chapter acts as a symbol of prison. It is both protected and strangely freeing, offering a kind of shelter for those escaping the violence of home. Viewers are encouraged to tear open the sealed box of the middle chapter in order to “gain access” to the prison.

"When Cages Fly" has been shortlisted for the Rencontres d’Arles Author Book Award and the IPA Photobook Awards. It was also a finalist for the Lucie Photobook Award, the APhF Pick:24 Book Award, and won Photography Book of the Year from POY (Pictures of the Year).