160 pages Photos by JR 28 x 22 cm Language: English, French Hardcover Publisher: Maison CF 2020
In October 2019, French artist JR created a unique artwork inside the California Correctional Institution: Tehachapi, a Level 4 maximum-security prison.
JR and his team collected testimonies, stories, and portraits of both current and former incarcerated individuals focused on rehabilitation, along with some prison staff members. With their help, the portraits were pasted in the prison yard. The massive collage—comprising 338 strips of paper—was completed within a few hours thanks to the involvement of all project participants, especially the large number of incarcerated men and staff who worked alongside JR’s team. A drone was used to capture the final view of the installation.
This book brings together the two artworks created, behind-the-scenes documentation, full-length testimonies (96 pages in English and French), as well as facsimile reproductions of letters written by the incarcerated individuals.
It opens the doors of Tehachapi—one of the most secure prisons in the United States—through an extraordinary artistic project.
