Incarceration Nation: The US Prison Industrial Complex

Dec 14, 2018

1 min read

Updated: Sep 7, 2020

December 14, 2018 - February 10, 2019

The Dj's Gay, My Love (Red and Green) aprilbey@gmail.com Relief photopolymer plate print with "African" Chinese knockoff wax fabric hand-sewn 22 x 15 in June 2019 — Ara Oshagan, Liz, 21 yrs old, Chowchilla State Prison, 2001

Incarceration Nation: the US Prison Industrial Complex at ReflectSpace gallery explores issues around the criminal justice system in the U.S. The artworks in the exhibit aim to highlight the dark underbelly of the prison industrial complex and speak to the staggering statistics of the incarcerated in unexpected ways. Touching on issues as diverse as prison geography and prisoner-made portraits, letters and images from inside, art by the formerly incarcerated, resistance-art and virtual reality (VR) installation, the exhibit subverts normative behind-the-prison-bars imagery to bring a more nuanced and collaborative consideration of the cost of our massive and brutal Prison Industrial Complex.

Artists in Incarceration Nation: Josh Begley, Alyse Emdur, Ara Oshagan, Shiela Pinkel, Mark Strandquist, Jack L. Morris and David Williams. Also on display will be a virtual reality experience of incarceration produced in collaboration with teens in juvenile hall.

Exhibition Statement

Catalog