Shifting Perception: A Turn Around

Personal creative expression provides new possibilities for those subject to the brutal, banal and demeaning effects of imprisonment. Equipped with incarceration language, prisons re-define their existence, yet art becomes a focal point for departure from the boundaries of their confinement. Unravelling these personal experiences often results in wild and explosive forms of expression where 'escape' is by virtue courting disassociation from the savage homogenisation of these environments. Liberation takes form across many genres, imbued with symbols and codes, often embedded with strong emotional discourse. The notion of 'escape' according to Damien ‘Task’ Seery (2002) is fully expedited when the cathartic separation of ‘prison’ through ‘art’ allows an inmate to flee from their predicament, build bridges over seemingly bottomless social and cultural divides, command feedback and foster self respect. Walls, cells, roll-calls, musters, and lockdowns fade into obscurity as new realities are privileged those willing to explore and investigate justice and equity through art.