BETWEEN INMATES

Curated by Tsvetelina Anastasova

"Between Inmates" is a continuation of our long-term research into the freedom of spirit among artists and prisoners. Within the platform for contemporary visual art Advertising Artists, we provide an opportunity to observe the interaction between two groups with different characteristics—artists and prisoners, all of whom are often placed beyond the boundaries of the socially accepted. The process of negotiating these boundaries is a sign of maturity and integrity in any society.

Following our collaborative projects with inmates - “ A Song for Mankind" (2020), “Inside/Out" (2021), "Open Spaces - 'Duel' in Prison" (2022), and the print edition "PRISON - Art Behind Bars" (2023), which recounts our encounters with inmates, this project is a continuation of our artistic intervention in prison.

The concept is based on the field experience that artists derive from their informal meetings and conversations with prisoners during several sessions. These meetings are the conceptual canvas on which the artist creates their body of work. The communicational exchange between the one "deprived of freedom" and the other "deprived of restrictions”— each inhabitant of his own world "inside" and “outside"— practically develops at the border. A strong, creatively emotionally recharged impulse is born there. This penetration highlights the paradoxical dimensions of freedom. In dialogue with the prisoners, the artist—the free person—faces the limitations of his own "social prison" and seeks the boundaries of freedom beyond the specific topography of the prison.

We believe that our encounters with prisoners open up the possibility for a conversation in our society about all marginalised groups. For both the artists and the prisoners, these encounters carry a powerful rebellious emotional element—a piece of forbidden freedom.