Prison or Slave Castle?
A Photographic Exhibit Examining the Architecture of Imprisonment
While places of confinement inhabit our daily lives, they often go unnoticed. Either they are hidden from view or are embedded into everyday life. In this exhibit, I explore two locations of confinement now located in the heart of active communities. Built 350 years apart, both locations are now historical museums. One held individuals viewed as property, while the other held individuals viewed as redeemable. Arguably, the purposes are polar opposites. Yet, their look and feel are quite similar. This exhibit unsettles this similarity and raises questions about architectural features across locations of imprisonment and how such structures have evolved (or not) over time to reflect societal ideas of confinement.
The exhibit is designed to resemble a place of imprisonment. The first set of photographs serves as the entrance gates to the facility while the remaining photographs are cell bars. Numbered in a counter-clockwise fashion, the exhibit asks you to decide: Is it a prison or a slave castle? Take a guess on the list provided; then find the answers in the pages of the exhibit booklet along with a description of each photograph.
Held at Elizabethtown College, this was my first photo exhibit. I am currently seeking a new home for the exhibit. Locations interested in hosting this exhibit may contact me at rshah9@emich.edu.
Dr. Rita Shah 