Sculptural vignettes in miniature by

This miniature sculptural scene is a collaborative work-in-progress. Three experiences, over time, directed my artwork towards the injustices of mass incarceration. During my undergraduate architectural studies, we were given a choice of designing a monastery or a prison… due to their similarities utilizing multiple small cells!!?? Both are based on isolation, but in drastically different ways. That simplified comparison did not resonate with me just yet, but their deeper repercussions stuck with me. Years later I came across a newspaper article about the loneliness of prisoners and how one can become a pen pal. I wanted to - I thought about it often, I fought with my inner cynic, but I never followed through. Then I came across Nicole Fleetwood’s seminal art exhibition and book Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration! One of the highlighted artists was Dean Gillispie, a miniaturist! It was like the world was telling me; it’s TIME for me to do something with the tools that I have, so to speak.I came up with the collaborative concept of reinterpreting the Late Baroque and Neo-Classical gallery within the Walters Art Museum inviting artists who are currently incarcerated to reimagine the paintings and sculptures … to show the outside world that these people are more than the crime they are charged with. We should understand more about them - their past lives, their dreams, their choices … and maybe find some empathy now knowing about the bloated carceral system of the United States. According to the ACLU, the US contains 5% of the world’s population, but holds over 20% of the world’s prisoners. That is by design and can be traced back to our roots in slavery.My architecturally informed assembly style and material choices aim to expose the silent systemic injustices inherent to the spaces we, on the outside, do not see clearly. In collaboration with incarcerated individuals, miniature work provides a platform for those who have been marginalized or abandoned by institutions to create art that breaks down barriers with more empathetic and inclusive cultural stories. Reimagining systematic or cultural oppression through miniature sculpture positions those without power to redesign the halls of history with certain autonomy. With the freedom to criticize, critique, and redesign spaces from new perspectives, artists can interrogate the present-day forces that insist on preserving the status quo.Visually, the existing gilded frames adorning the rich brocaded walls and the pedestaled sculptures exemplify the classic salon style gallery. The evergreen debate of what constitutes Great Art is juxtaposed with the scourge of America’s excessive carceral system. Having spent several months developing relationships with four artists (and counting) who are currently imprisoned around the country through letter writing and proprietary email systems (definitely not your average GMail), I continue to take all the communication challenges each program presents and incorporate them into the sculpture. This collaboration, ultimately, will shine a much-needed light on a nearly forgotten, purposely hidden, community – those serving excessively long sentences in what is planned injustice of our nation’s justice system.