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Unwanted Butterfly Tamás Urbán

Ferenc Deák or how he called himself, the Unwanted Butterfly was born in 1954 and spent almost half of his 40-year-life behind bars. He tattooed the whole surface of his body during his years in jail. Butterfly was a highly unusual phenomenon in socialist Hungary being also part of the underground punk scene and performing with popular bands like Sziámi in the infamous Fekete Lyuk (Black Hole) club. Renowned Hungarian photographer Tamás Urbán met him in 1988 while he was serving time in jail and documented his prison days, release and the last six years of his life, until his death in 1994. Looking back after three decades he remains to be a controversial figure being a multiple convicted criminal and an intelligent creative mind stuck behind the Iron Curtain. A life lived in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In jail
Last day in prison and first day of freedom
robber&cop board game designed by Butterfly
Tattoos
a list of his tattoos with his handwriting
Commune and women
pages from his diary
plan of his prison "invention", the blowjob-machine (the prototype is also in Tamás's collection)
plan of another prison "invention", the thread-driven tattooing machine
Life is a performance
poster advertising a concert mentioning him as 'Butterfly, the wise man of the homeland'
Epilogue
coronation report stating he drowned in the Danube while attempting to swim across the river
invitation to his farewell ceremony
Butterfly with Tamás Urbán on the first version of the planned cover of the album
Created By
Istvan Viragvolgyi
Appreciate

Credits:

All images are copright protected by Tamás Urbán.