Prison Art

Finished

In the "Exchange between Inside and Outside the Walls" project, in cooperation with Motherhouse, a non-profit organization, literary works such as poems, tanka poems, haiku, willow poems, essays, calligraphy, and paintings are collected from prisoners all over Japan. The theme for the first exhibition of this project is "My Valuable Time". Many works were created by the applicants, each of whom took time and effort to confront "time" in the past, present, and future.

In addition, with the cooperation of Inter7, an organization that aims to support all those who have been injured by crimes, regardless of whether they were the perpetrator or the victim, the project holds various opportunities for dialogue. Shoji Harada, who, as a bereaved family member of a victim whose brother was murdered, has been in dialogue with his assailant, Toshihiko Hasegawa (then on death row), and Koji Aramaki, who, influenced by Harada's activities, has been working to support Akihiro Okumoto (now on death row).

In addition to works submitted by prisoners, the exhibition will also feature paintings by Hasegawa and Okumoto. Hasegawa has already been executed and his drawings have been kept by Harada and others. Akihiro Okumoto drew pictures using colored pencils and with the support of Koji Aramaki, sold them as postcards and calendars, using the proceeds to repay the victims. However, due to a directive from the Minister of Justice in February 2021, he is no longer allowed to use colored pencils, and he is currently filing a "colored pencil lawsuit."

There are people who are still working to express themselves within the limited freedom of the walls. And there are people who support and come face-to-face with that expression from outside the walls. This exhibition explores the relationships and circuits of dialogue that may not be possible in the judicial arena, through time-consuming exchanges between those inside and outside the walls.

Schedule

Feb 17 (Fri) 2023-Mar 5 (Sun) 2023