GALLERY RESPONSE

          When I first walked into the gallery I was caught off guard. I was wondering when I walked into the exhibit why was there food places that we normal go to on the daily bases. But as I got more information all of the artworks made senses to me. First off I would like to applaud Julie Green on her amazing work. I appreciate and admire the work and dedication she displayed in her work when creating her exhibit on "The Last Supper". In her works she made it where the viewer who was looking at her work would understand what was going on. In my eyes as a viewer looking at so much amazing art-pieces, I was amazed on how she captured the final meal of a prisoner on death row represented on plates. I have never seen that before and I found it very interesting.     

At Home With Family, 2021
  

        The art piece "At Home With Family" by Julie Green, I would say really stood out to me the most because I am a very big on family. Family to me is a unity of love ones who come together and care for one another. In this amazing piece of art it just spoke to me. When it comes to being a prisoner in prison being away from how and family are very hard. Being in a place like prison with a bunch of people you do not know is very emotional and stressful. For me having an uncle who was in prison most of my whole life for me it was hard because I never really got that time with him like my older sister's did. Not being able to have my uncle home with me and also the whole family enjoying ourselves as one big happy family and having a good time with amazing food, I would say was as hard as it was for me it was difficult for him. I would never know the emotional pain that my uncle endured while being a prison I know prison food is nothing compared to a home cooked meal. Looking at the "At Home With Family" piece there are some questions I wanted to talk to him about but sad part about it my uncle was released from prison in 2021 and couple days after he was released from prison he passed away on February 11, 2021.  

T-Bone Phone, 2020

            When I looked at this artwork of the "T-Bone Phone" what I liked about it the most was the iPhone and the big T-Bone steak. Being locked up in prison the use of technology is very limited. I mean you have access to a phone but it is not an iPhone it is a payphone that each prisoner uses when they are making calls to family members and their love ones. Spending 15 plus years behind bars lots of things in the world change; meaning a lot of things that you remember before going to prison it is not the same it is more updated and more advanced. 

            

        When I took this selfie of myself, I decided to make the photo in black and white. My reason for this specific selfie with the black and white is to show the pain and hurt of a person who has lost someone so important to them because of our screwed up justice system. This photo of myself also shows that some my age or even older or younger could be wrongfully convinced without even having their chance to speak their TRUTH. The quotes that stood out to me while reflecting on my selfie but also my response was, "Clearly we cannot dismantle a system as long as we engage in collective denial about its impact on our lives". - Bell Hooks and "Publicity masks what is happening in the rest of the world." - Ways of Seeing