Using Paintbrushes rather than Knifes to Unleash Emotion- What goes on in UK Prisons.

Facing Life- Paul Higgins

In the history of art, delinquents have often generated attention and ended up as the praised and pitied ones, often too late for them to be able to bathe in the hot waters of success. Caravaggio circa the Renaissance, Van Gogh post impressionism and Basquiat as leader of the 80’s American Avant Garde come to mind.

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Recently, it appears the UK has developed a niche market for art by criminals. So much so that the highly sought after Southbank Centre is having an exhibition devoted to artwork by current prisoners in the UK entitled Art by Offenders (Oct 21st - Dec 3rd ). The exhibition is supported by the Koestler trust, a charity that believes in giving the prisoners a percentage of the money if their work sells. The Koestler Trust holds yearly awards giving the chance to prisoners to earn money through their art. Last year’s winner said “I cried when I won a Koestler Award, it was the first time in my life I’d been told I’d done something really well”.

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A Scottish exhibition bearing the same title revealed some fabulously kitsch work that some critics said was worthy of any million dollar Jeff Koons, notably a train made of matchsticks. Indeed, it appears there is a contemporary vein running through the inmate’s body of works to denote the claustrophobia of prison life. In one work in the upcoming exhibition, Full House, we see a mass of uniformed figures stacked together in a suffocating ambience of dark shades and terrorising confusion depicted on facial expressions. Another work in the exhibition, My World in Winter, has been likened to Peter Doig in its technique with the thick texture of the layers of paint trapped on top of each other without release, no doubt as a reference to the texture of imprisonment itself.

The lack of access to expensive or more creative materials makes it a challenge for the prisoners yet ensures they use their imagination more than ever, and this definitely comes out in the simple yet frustrated canvases full of convoluted shapes or screaming figures in a world free from colour and solution. As opposed to the Hirsts of the art world who have diamonds, stained glass and stuffed animals at their disposals, these dysfunctional individuals have paper, paint and their hands. The results are startling.

Future Man- Group Work

"It is interesting what styles emerge," says Ally Walsh, an art manager at the Anne Peaker Centre for Arts in Criminal Justice in London. "Some [inmates] might have had no exposure to contemporary art. But what they're making is naive and abstract art." People like that they can get a peek at what goes on under the taboo of prison life. There’s something forbidden about it, unknown. In an age where there are no secrets, the mysterious and dysfunctional life of these underdogs is generating more curiosity than ever, as much for its psychological capacity as for its artistic one.

An ethical question poses itself as government money is being spent on encouraging exhibitions by sociopaths whom are in turn getting financially rewarded. The issue has turned into a micro scandal nationally and even the Queen has refused to comment, so furious is she at this new found fad. Koestler trust head, Tim Robertson, disagrees and thinks that; on the contrary, "It is a way of rebuilding [a prisoner's] relationship with society. Some of these prisoners are creating amazingly skilled work. By exhibiting it, you get to hear their perspectives. The majority of the public have no idea what's happening [inside prisons]. They are grim places. My God, they're grim."

Subterranean Homesick Android- Anon

Others are less in favor of the entire prospect such as a Ministry of Justice spokesman who stated only yesterday that criminals should not be allowed to "cash in on the story of their crime." There is no denying that this story, though, makes for some very intriguing and captivating art. Recently, an origami sculpture was purchased for £600 by the government for the London Royal Festival Hall. What they didn’t know was that it was the work of convicted sex offender Colin Pitchfork. The result was outrage, and the debate still continues as whether it should be there or not. The problem is, people like it, “it’s beautiful”, some passer by noted, unaware of its author.

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Another British detainee, Michael Gordon Peterson, is a prolific artist whilst he serves his life sentence in jail. From armed robberies, to kidnappings to assault, he’s done it all, and has been in solitary confinement for the past 30 years. His colorful and sometimes amusing depictions of his troubled conscience have gained popularity online. He donates all the money earned to charity, including the £700 he fetched for two works this summer which has now gone to the Welsh Charity the Beacon of Hope. Some see this act as an inflation of his criminal ego, which has no right to enter the art sphere.

Thug Life- Patrick John Craggs

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The current “stars” of the scene are the Kray Twins, convicted of murder in the 1960’s. They held a violent gang, The Firm, which dealt with dirty crime. Their work has just emerged after their death in prison. The Munch like drawings with threatening figures and distorted landscapes seem more popular than ever, and have already fetched high prices at auction houses.

Rehabilitating criminals by allowing them to express themselves through art rather than crime seems like a healthy idea to me. However, it’s another matter to use government funds to promote the schemes and then give these offenders profit. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this moral debate.

One thing is sure; the psychological trappings of a disturbed mind have fascinated people for centuries and will continue to do so. If art is an expression of inner emotion, and that emotion happens to be drenched in turmoil and abnormality, this surely makes the art in question all the more intellectually and aesthetically compelling.