In her photo series “Wonderful,” Berlin-based photographer Lena Mucha captures the young generation of the Roma, or Gitanos, an ethnic minority living on the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain.
Spain has the largest population of Roma in Western Europe -- and it shares the wider Roma population’s history of persecution. While conditions and integration for the Roma community are better in Spain than in other European countries, members of the young Roma generation are often faced with exclusion and intolerance. Only five percent of Roma students in Spain complete upper-secondary education, and 25 percent of the Spanish population would not allow their children to study in the same school with Romani students.
Mucha’s intimate photos show girls in their bedrooms, or details of daily life in Roma households outside of the Spanish city. The photographer, whose work often focuses on human rights, gender and social change, says she took on this project to challenge stereotypes.
"I focused on the young generation and tried to reveal a glimpse of their world, since their future seems to offer little promise, and stereotypes, racial discrimination and social exclusion are the main factors that affect their lives,” she told HuffPost Italy.
Mucha’s photo series, "Wonderful," is on display at the Goethe Institute in Barcelona, Spain until 7 July. This piece was originally published on HuffPost Italy and has been translated into English.