Narratively

Narratively

Share this post

Narratively
Narratively
Visualizing The Overlooked Legacy of Mass Incarceration
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Visualizing The Overlooked Legacy of Mass Incarceration

Artists with family members behind bars get creative about opening our eyes to what life’s really like for those trapped in America’s epidemic of imprisonment.

Vikki Tobak
Jan 18, 2016
∙ Paid

Share this post

Narratively
Narratively
Visualizing The Overlooked Legacy of Mass Incarceration
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share
Photos by Rodolfo Diaz
Titus Kaphar; "Jerome IV," 2014; oil, gold leaf and tar on wood panel; ©Titus Kaphar. (Image courtesy of the artist and the Jack Shainman Gallery, New York)
Titus Kaphar; "Jerome IV," 2014; oil, gold leaf and tar on wood panel; ©Titus Kaphar. (Image courtesy of the artist and the Jack Shainman Gallery, New York)

After Googling his estranged father and discovering dozens of currently or formerly incarcerated men with the exact same first and last name, Titus Kaphar, an artist based in New Haven, Connecticut, created a series of paintings called “The Jerome Project.” He painted tar-covered mug shots of these men in the style of Byzantine holy portraits, specifically those depicting Saint Jerome. Gold-leaf paint covers portions of their faces in correlation to the length of their prison sentences.

Meanwhile, artist Hank Willis Thomas and John Jay College professor Dr. Baz Dreisinger recently collaborated on the travelling installation The Writing on the Wall, a room-sized take on modern hieroglyphics made from essays, poems, letters, stories, diagrams and notes written by prisoners around the world. Dr. Dreisinger collec…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Narratively to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Narratively, Inc.
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More