Title: The Angel of Prisons
Medium: Conte, graphite, acrylic, ink, digital collage; text excerpt from William T. Vollman’s The Atlas
Dimensions: 17 in. W x 22 in. H
Date: 2021
Illustrated broadsheet incorporating primary documents reporting on endemic abuse and pervasive lack of medical care within private, state, and federal detention centers/prisons within the United States.
Alt Text: Full image view. Collage, ink and graphite broadsheet in blues, whites and browns on black background. Two drawn areas are present, one in upper third of image, the other roughly taking up its bottom right quarter. Small, white columns of text and lines are laid out like a bastardized illuminated manuscript. Detailed section descriptions in following slides.
Alt Text: Detail of first illustrated panel in upper third of image. On panel's right side, stretching to bottom left, a figure in blue lies on a bed; skin an unhealthy green/grey, face turned away, eyes obscured. One leg is visible, cuffed to the bedframe. Surrounding bed is a mass of brownish feathered wings, a human mouth visible underneath, whispering to the bedridden figure.
Alt Text: Continued detail of first illustrated panel in upper third of image. To right of panel is collection of handwritten type, ending in the line "'You know there's no medicine here,' the Angel said. 'You know that you were born for burning.'"
Alt Text: Detail of second illustrated panel in bottom right quarter of image. On filthy, sickly-yellow paper, thick white and blue paints with dark inks scratched on top depicts the bottom halves of two bare, human legs; the feet cuffed together. One cuffed foot is at an angle, seemingly snapped off from its leg, like a broken mannequin or shattered sculpture.