Answers on a postcard…
Over the last year Penned Up has been asking people in prison:
Tell Me One Truth About Prison
Whilst everyone experiences prison differently there are some common experiences that are not always heard/understood and these ‘truths’ unlock what prison is actually like for those who have not experienced it. By combining these individual ‘truths’ we hope to produce something that reflects a broader understanding of prison.
The original end format for these quotes was to be a spoken-word piece, and this is what colleagues in Michigan set in motion with artists from the Linkage community (former prisoners) there.
We decided to do something different with the quotes collected from UK prisons using images of cell doors taken by Andy Aitchison and combine these with members of the Outsiders Project (former prisoners and those impacted by the criminal justice system) voicing particular quotes. They’re not acting or performing just reading what prisoners said. The missing ingredient was Max Porter’s suggestion to bring in animator Paul Barrit to make the images less static and give the words greater impact. Literally bringing them to life.
As with Penned Up itself Tell Me One Truth is a bridge combining lived experience with creative ways to co-create and present different and often difficult subjects.
Thanks to
The men and women at HMP Rochester/Cookham Wood, Isis, Downview and Stocken
Andy Aitchison
Max Porter
Paul Barritt
Gary Lee, Lead artist for the Outsiders Project
The Outsiders Project https://gotbeaf.co.uk/beaf/our-work/outsiders-project/
And to all those who didn’t roll their eyes when they first heard the idea.
