Alexa Wright

Over a two year period between 2021 and 2023, and with the support of an Arts Council Lottery Grant, I worked with men and women at three prisons in the UK: HMP Liverpool, HMP Styal and Feltham YOI. Using collage, photo and video we explored the meanings of themes such as Justice, Judgement, Responsibility, Power and Freedom for individuals in prison. 

 

During a series of workshops, project participants made collages and then directed me to go out to gather relevant video footage of the outside world. Some people also took their own photos within the prison setting. With permission, I recorded conversations with individual participants during workshops. Each of the short videos below is a personal portrait, created around a different person's narrative, voiced by an actor. The videos bring together the participants' own photos with video footage which they have co-directed and in one case with texts written by the participant during Covid, when the prison was in lockdown. As far as possible (access was often difficult), editorial decisions were made in conversation with each participant. 

 

The work is designed to be shown on a loop across two large monitors. It can be shown in full, or a more limited selection can be made from the existing 11 video portraits. Full running time: 39min.

​

You can see the finished work HERE

​