Identity, shame rituals and art
Posted on: Mon 26 Aug 2019
“The prison is an institution of shame; it’s both a place of punishment and a place of rehabilitation. There are people that would argue that it’s actually too much to ask of one institution.”
Art by Prisoners presents selected works created by men and women incarcerated in South Australia’s adult prisons, allowing them to anonymously to participate in the community both as prisoners and as artists.
Jeremy Ryder, Policy and Project Officer at the Department for Correctional Services, is the producer for the Art by Prisoners exhibition, which is in it’s seventh instalment.
He describes the origins of the project, the complex social constructs attached to crime and punishment in Western countries, the stories behind the works and how the exhibition is a reflection of the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prisons around Australia.
Produced by Lisa Burns
Image supplied and approved for use by Jeremy Ryder and SACOSS
