STEEL SCULPTURE

PROCESS

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FINE METALS

PRISON SERIES

From 1995-2004 I ran arts programs in community settings, many co-created with adjudicated youth in Brooklyn, NY.  Our projects interfaced heavily with community courts employing restorative justice models. After working as a guest artist at Bayview Correctional Facility and Rikers Island prison, I was struck by the invisibilized journeys involved in visiting loved ones held in these spaces.  In 2004 I moved to New York’s Hudson Valley to pursue my MFA.  Many of the surrounding small town local economies rely on the prison industrial complex for jobs and boosts to their population numbers on census data. A disproportionate percentage of people incarcerated near me could be traced back to the specific NYC neighborhoods I had lived and worked in.

As a metalsmith I investigate recurring forms by which metal manifests as a signifier across cultures - badge, ring, tool, coin. My Prison Coin Series employing the format of commemorative coins, evolved from my research into maps tracing the forced transit of people through the NY State prison economy, journeys to visit loved ones, ideas of economy, value and memory. 

The series was exhibited at galleries and served as a catalyst for dialogue; my original vision for the project is for it to serve as a participatory/performative element of organizing efforts led by restorative justice organizations working to change specific policies.