Sunday, June 20, 2010

i covered an arts class in jail put on by redemptionart.org, an organization that exhibits and sells the inmates' art.
it was difficult to understand the magnitude of these women's life inside. i thought about it as I walked out the sturdy iron doors and as I drove home through heavy clouds and the sun setting over the lake. i thought about it as I ordered dinner and walked into my apartment. reality is different in there. i haven't spent a year in jail. or two. or eight. but i came away feeling that life is harsh, sometimes too harsh to grasp. these women won't smell oncoming rain or get to chose what to eat tonight or walk into an apartment of their own for years to come. these photos of shellie and sasha next to each other drove home those contrasts. interesting stuff that makes me thinky and remember that there is no default to life.

3 comments:

BWJones said...

Wow... you are absolutely correct in that there is no default path in life. I need to remember that, but for now... these photos are amazing. Put them up on the utahphotojournalism site, yeah?

Mark Johnston said...

Well said Djamila.

I'm hooked on Aaron Huey's blog right now and your post reminded me of a series he's posting.

http://aaronhuey.com/blog/?p=323

Djamila Grossman said...

cool, thanks! i'll check it out.