Solitary
Matthew Thompson
PhotoIreland
English
Softcover
Edition of 200
32 pages
148 x 210mm
2016
ISBN 9780957684973
This project presents a collaboration between Maria Hinds, Matthew Thompson and Herman Wallace. It documents the life of Herman Wallace, a former Black Panther and Angola 3 member, during his forty two years of solitary confinement in Louisiana state prisons. His story is told through a collection of personal items fashioned or acquired during his incarceration that testify to the resilient strength and creative ingenuity of a human spirit forced to endure decades in the harshly punitive environments the U.S. prison system.
Through artistic expression and imaginative improvisation these items became functional tools for survival, repurposed to navigate, circumvent, and ultimately transcend the constraints of prison life while affirming humanity in an otherwise inhuman set of circumstances. Embodiments of memory, self-identity, social connection and political determination, these items reflect both community and loss, inside and outside, struggle and pleasure, as well as courage and transcendent human freedom. The project catalogues a selection of Herman’s possessions that he gave to supporter and friend Maria Hinds.
Designed by Ángel Luis González Fernández
(Source: https://newirishworks.com/publications/)
About the Artist:
Matthew Thompson is an award winning Irish artist working in photography and film. His collaborative “read by” films have been showcased at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (2021&25), Druid Theatre ( 2021), featured in Zebra Film Festival, Berlin, (2023-4). His portrait of Andrew Hozier-Byrne was a finalist for the Zurich Portrait Award / National Gallery of Ireland (2020). Matthew’s personal work is focused on exploring how conditioning influences perception, and he has exhibited his work in New York, New Orleans, Paris, London, Shenzhen, Helsinki, Belfast, and Dublin. He holds a Masters of Fine Art Photography from the University of Ulster in Belfast and a Bachelor of Design Degree from The National College of Art & Design in Dublin.
matthewthompsonphotography.com
(Source: http://matthewthompsonphotography.com/information/)
About The Series
Selected by an international panel of 23 professionals, New Irish Works brings you a selection of 20 projects and 20 photographers representing the diverse range of practices coming from Ireland. New Irish Works 2016 is a year long project of 10 presentations and 20 publications that aims to highlight the great moment Irish Photography is experiencing.
newirishworks.com
(Source: https://newirishworks.com/about/)
About the Publisher
PhotoIreland grows the reputation of Irish artists globally through a 360 degree support system and platform for contemporary photography, activated through a diversity of projects. These include events such as PhotoIreland Festival and Halftone print fair amongst others; resources such as the PhotoIreland Collection, a specialised research library of photobooks, and Ireland’s Art Bookshop, The Library Project; via publishing with projects such as OVER Journal and TLP Editions; professional development support through networking and consultancy opportunities; and empowering early and mid-career photographers via our international partnerships, most relevantly through Creative Europe co-funded platforms such as FUTURES and Parallel.
https://photoireland.org/
(Source: https://photoireland.org/about-photoireland/)
