Perspective
It’s easy to let pre-existing notions about prison and incarcerated people color one’s perception of art produced inside prison. In viewing these pieces, we encourage audiences to set aside their own point of view and place themselves in the mind of the artist, taking care to confront their own biases and open themselves to new perspectives.
For this categorization, we aim to highlight a variety of different perspectives artists have brought to the table. Some pieces offer a more literal take on perspective. Others, like Radu’s “Upside-Down World,” appear to be a literal interpretation of point of view but offer further insight on the artist’s perspective as the viewer begins to notice details in the piece. Several pieces in this category were originally presented as two separate works that — after conversing with the artists — we elected to display together. In “What I See/ MySpace” by artist Sauce.B, both images represent what the artist sees from his cell. One, a literal view out the barred window, and the other what he sees when he closes his eyes: the unbound potential of the cosmos.
Other pieces in this grouping center on identity and duality. Incarceration can eclipse the other parts of one’s identity, becoming the dominating thing that others see and marking any other aspect of identity as less important. At the same time, carcerality impacts people in tremendous ways, and to ignore its reality would be to ignore its injustices. This category gives space for navigating collective and individual identities, with pieces addressing both one’s perception of themselves and how others perceive them.
By: Suzy Moffat
