corrections
corrections
“Elected officials and policymakers have and continue to make deliberate decisions that grow the prison population The rise of mass incarceration may seem like a recent phenomenon, but it is part of a pattern that repeats throughout this country’s history. From America’s founding to the present, stories of crime waves or criminal behavior have been followed by disproportionate imprisonment of those forced to the margins of society: Black people, immigrants, Native Americans , refugees, and others” Vera Institute , vera.org/ending-mass-incarceration/causes-of-mass-incarceration
When I first started the CORRECTIONS Project (2015), I found it odd that prisons and jails referred to their size by the number of beds they contained. This seemingly innocuous detail, used by resorts, hotels, or even camps, took on a profound meaning in the context of incarceration. It highlighted the stark contrast between these places of rest or joy and the harsh reality of being incarcerated
So I purchased a very cheap imported blanket of the type and quality used in prisons and jails. This blanket, now a symbol of discomfort and confinement, became the ground for this particular work I began embroidering white and orange tally marks in that blanket to reach the then-current population of 2,300,000.
Each stitch represents a person sleeping under such a blanket, each mark a placeholder of their confinement I imagine the blanket and accumulated stitches to make for an uncomfortable weight, mirroring the discomfort the lack of privacy, the inconsistent temperatures, the sounds, the smells experienced by those incarcerated. Not included in this installation, that piece remains a work in progress, while the conditions remain ongoing.
Ed Epping
Santa Fe, NM
eepping@williamsedu www.edepping.com
The CORRECTIONS Project installation was installed in the Alna, Maine, Schoolhouse from July 17 through 24, 2025, as part of the Puddledock Festival organized by studio B and Peter Bruun The one-room school was a perfect setting for the lessons each work addresses regarding mass incarceration and over-criminalization within the USA.
Research supported by the Prison Policy Initiative, the Equal Justice Initiative, Vera Institute for Justice, The Innocence Project, and Solitary Watch informed the focus of the work included
The Abolitionist's Ledger and Isolate address quantity and scale through 2,300,000 marks in the Ledger and 100,000 stitches in Isolate. Aspects of incarceration fill clock faces in Prison Time. In Cellular, a typical cell's size overlaps viewer-familiar objects and conditions Seventeen of my designed and printed pamphlets, which elaborate on the collateral residue of mass incarceration and over-criminalization, were displayed on a table with two reading benches on either side. And Exonerated, pyrographic portraits of individuals serving long terms for crimes they did not commit, occupied the classroom The existing school blackboards were chalked with thousands of tally marks or handwritten text, including:
A judicial system that incentivizes informants , provides inadequate defense , misapplies forensic science , permits government misconduct , allows false confessions or admissions , and does nothing to correct eyewitness misidentification will , inevitably, prosecute, convict , and incarcerate innocent individuals
Abolitionist’s Ledger, 2021, 12 x 18", printed with graphite marks on paper; eraser, brush/pan/tin on table, bench with bench The Abolitionist's Ledger, contains 1500 pages, each printed with 1500 rectangular boxes, and each individually marked with a graphite stroke. Each marked box or cell represents an individual incarcerated in the USA. The Ledger, when exhibited, invites the viewer to erase those marks gently and to collect those erasures in an accompanying lidded tin.
You see, we have a significant problem in the United States. In 1970, the total incarcerated population was 328,020. By 2018, the incarcerated population had grown to approximately 23 million, representing a 700% increase since 1970 While the current incarcerated population has dropped to 1.8 million, that figure is, once again, on the rise.
Isolate 2018, vintage canvas cot cover, 100,000 hand embroidered stitches, unstretched: 67”l x 32” w
Solitary confinement is broadly used throughout federal, state, and county prisons and jails as a means of punishment and segregation from the prison population On any given day, there are 100,000 individuals in SHU (Special Housing Units).
Considered torture, it has been condemned as such by the U.N., and yet this practice persists and is on the increase. Isolate, made of 100,000 handembroidered stitches on a vintage canvas cot cover, defines the life-size silhouette of an individual in a fetal position.
The word, number, like those carved into the four benches, is a homograph—two or more words spelled the same but mean differently when pronounced differently Subject, record, wound, close, and number reference conditions or actions highlighted throughout the CORRECTIONS project.
Cellular, 2015-0ngoing, 24 x 18" each printed/mounted (WOUND carved into bench)
The level of security, from minimum to " supermax, " heavily influences the cell's environment
In minimum-security prisons, housing may resemble dormitories with more communal living spaces.
In maximum or supermax prisons, inmates are often in their cells for 23 hours a day, under constant surveillance, and with minimal to no contact with other prisoners. These cells may be made of poured concrete and sometimes have soundproofed walls to prevent communication.
Beyond the basic structure and furnishings, the actual living conditions can be a significant source of litigation and concern, with issues like overcrowding, sanitation, and lack of adequate heating or cooling.
A prison or jail cell in the United States is typically a small, austere room designed for the confinement of one or more inmates. While designs and conditions can vary widely based on the age, security level, and location of the facility, there are several standard features.
A traditional U.S. jail cell is approximately six by eight feet Newer facilities may have slightly larger cells
The standard size for a single inmate is around 65 square feet, providing at least 35 square feet of "unencumbered" space.
However, due to overcrowding, it is common for two inmates to be housed in a cell designed for one, a practice known as "double-bunking"
Cellular, (dimensions variable) is a series of posters that represent a typical cell's floor plan, including its permanently attached bed/s, desk/stool, and water basin/toilet. What, in our nonincarcerated lives, parallels this space?
How much room does it take to park a VW Beetle? Or grocery carts? Or a regulation size pool table? Or accomodate one other person? Each image overlays those and other domestic items onto this cell's diagram.
Cellular attempts to reveal just how small a cell is and, by empathic transfer, how it might feel to live in such a restricted space.
Exonerated, 15 x 11", pyrographic pen on paper 2017-ongoing
A series of portraits, produced by pyrographic drawing. A wood-burning stylus sears the paper to describe the lines, shapes, and tones of the subject. These epresent those whose criminal record or imprisonment lasted between 28 and 54 years before they were found innocent of their charge
L-R Top: Willie Womble; Michael Hanline; Kwame Ajama • L-R Bottom: Walter Lomax; Ledura Watkins; Fred Weichel
Pamphlets encouraging community action have a very long tradition in the USA, serving as a powerful tool for change and empowerment. Think Thomas Paine’s, Common Sense! These selected pamphlets are not just a collection but a call to action. They represent my effort to conduct research, identify relevant points related to over-criminalization and mass imprisonment, and then disseminate this information through social media links, including Instagram (@ed_epping), LinkedIn, and wwwedeppingcom
"Prison is a second-by-second assault on the soul , a day-today degradation of the self , an oppressive steel and brick umbrella that transforms seconds into hours and hours intodays"
Mumia Abu-Jamal
