This artwork started with the idea of the mass incarceration
phenomenon that is currently occurring globally, I then turned to a simple
urban slang phrase for inspiration, “no face no case”. Its interpretation very
general and at times not true leads us into thinking that if no one can
identify the accused, then no crime was committed. In order to break down this
idea we not only have to look at the meaning of the phrase with an artistic
lens but also with a sociological lens. If there's not enough evidence in the
judicial system to prove that the accused is guilty, they could walk free on
the other hand if convicted and sentenced to prison the no face no case idea
still stands. From this point forward, an individual would become an inmate
sent to any number of prisons for the purpose of rehabilitation. In any case a
prison is just a box where society sends individuals who have operated outside
the norms of its society. These inmates then become faceless in the world, hidden
away… where they cannot be seen. From this viewpoint we can then take a
different look at the structures, relationships and institutions within the
prison system to understand the complex dynamics of what and how the individual
ended up in that situation, the interactions between the inmates, prison staff
and in general the broader impact this will have on their rehabilitation and
society.
Running with this
concept I then reverted back to the theme that stretches out in all my works,
the idea of choices. Every choice we make has action, in every action a
reaction dictating the outcome of our lives. We create our very own prison, our
private little box. With this idea at hand, I decided to turn the sociological
lens back on to myself and analyze my life and the little box that I have
created for myself, as we all do. I wanted to recreate this feeling of looking
at the self within and what better way than looking into a vanity mirror. The
jail cell was inspired by the mistakes I've made in life. The graffiti on the
jail cell was inspired by train hopping in the 80s to my local library to read
books on art and look at paintings and sculptures of the great masters. The
mixed media self-portrait was inspired by the no face no case research for this
artwork. When creating this artwork, I learned one very important thing about
myself, that I am guilty of… and that's, falling in love with art.
Therefore, analyzing
the prison system as a working institution of society, we can better understand
and learn how to have an impact on real rehabilitation and decrease the recidivism
rate in the hopes of pushing back against the mass incarceration phenomenon of
our current era. At the same time, we can turn this sociological viewpoint on
ourselves and see what we're doing to contribute to the problem and what we can
do to fix it.