Academic Major: Visual Arts, Art History Major
Advisor: Nathaniel Infante
Title: Injustice in the Justice System
I have a personal involvement in some of the ways that the criminal justice system can fail people. My uncle has severe mental illness and was framed for murder; as a result, he is living out a life sentence in Alabama. This happened before I was born, and because of the laws in Alabama, I can never meet my uncle as I am not a direct relative. I vividly remember sitting in a boiling parking lot one summer as a young child, crying as fire ants attacked me and my brother as we waited in the heat for my mother and grandmother to take turns visiting my uncle in the prison. If justice had been properly served, my uncle would be receiving treatment for his illness in a therapeutic setting, not wasting away behind bars perpetually on suicide watch. The criminal justice system is run by humans, and as such it has made errors. Just as no person is perfect, no jury is perfect, and no judge is perfect. I am interested in telling the stories of those who have been treated poorly by the system, those like my uncle. To accomplish this goal, I plan to interview formerly incarcerated individuals and create a series of artworks about their experiences using intaglio printmaking techniques. I will find consenting volunteers for this project through local individuals and organizations I am involved with.