Behind Bars V
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1 June - 31 October 2010 |
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This is the fifth of eight exhibits
presenting the artwork, graffiti, and other expressions of incarceration
at the former prison site in Lorton, Virginia.
This project began on 24 August 2002, when my wife Til
and I attended a decommissioning ceremony, transferring jurisdiction of
the prison property from the District of Columbia Department of
Corrections back to Fairfax County, Virginia. At the time and
subsequently, I had the opportunity to photograph the site during guided
tours of the prison and, eventually, self-directed visits with the
permission of the proper authorities at the time.
This self-assigned project was undertaken in my spare
time from 2002 to 2008, with the bulk of the work occurring from 2003 to
2005. My "canvas" consisted of hundreds of cells and other
rooms located in dozens of buildings on more than 2,300 rolling acres
spread between the town of Lorton in Fairfax County and the village of
Occoquan in neighboring Prince William County.
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A Hand Up. Minimum Security Facility, DCDC, Lorton, Virginia. 2003. © Charles Albert Huckins |
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The majority of buildings
constituting the prison complex were assembled into four major groups,
known as: 1) "Central" (or "Central/Max," including
the primary maximum security area); 2) "Minimum Security;" 3)
"Youth Correctional Facility" (or, simply, "YCF");
and 4) the "Occoquan Facility" (or, the
"Workhouse"). Generally, these four facilities are
represented in each of the eight exhibits which will be presented here,
in approximate proportion to the amount of material I harvested in each
of them. Caution: Some images in this exhibit may not be considered suitable for viewing by children.
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