Medium
Text
Form
Interview quote
Artist / Maker
former prison officer
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Have you ever walked into a cathedral or a castle and gone “oh, wow”? It’s that exact feeling. It’s something that you know has been built by people well before our era with different technologies and different ideals, and you just kind of go “this is impressive.” It’s that sort of feeling, because it is an impressive building.
We want to understand what these prisons are like to live and work in, and how has this changed over time. We are examining the ways that these prison buildings carry traces of the past, while operating in the present day.
The project considers how and why these buildings have survived for so long, and asks how we will know when they have reached the end of their operational lives. We consider the significance of the Victorian prison in shaping public and professional ideas of what prison should be like. Crucially, this project explores the implications of the continued operation of Victorian-era prisons for the contemporary prison service, and aims to inform policy development.