The project was to capture and print large, almost life-sized photographs of inmates from within Maine State Prison, have them write a letter to their younger selves and superimpose those handwritten letters as vignettes around the inmate.
The idea behind it being to display these images in a gallery for public viewing, in hopes that it brought a much more human element to individuals we often look at only as convicts living in a cell.
"Our bad choices can contain untold loss, remorse, and regret [...] but the positive value of these bad choices might be immeasurable if we can face them, admit to them, learn from them and find the strength to share."
Source: Convicts Share Words of Wisdom with their Younger Selves in Powerful Photo Series, by Gannon Burgett
Wow, this is powerful. Thanks so much for sharing it. Hard-earned wisdom indeed, and I appreciate the effort to look behind the bars to see the human being, the person, inside it. I like how the words - the letter - frame the person, like this is what their soul is saying inside them.
ReplyDeleteIt really struck me. I think it was Socrates who said that an unexamined life is not worth living. True or not, this shows that it is never too late to start that process. It also appealed to the graphic designer in me.
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