Art in Penal System: Photography Project with Students Show Perspectives from Prison
Prison is a space that is not accessible to the general public, which is exactly why it lends itself to so many projections, assumptions, and categorisations. Is it possible to gain insights into the life and work of imprisoned women without indulging in outrage, sensationalism, or voyeurism? What happens when students and inmates create images together?
In this unusual collaboration, photography students Tarek, Luisa and Marleen met Anis, Moni, Chrisi, Art, Löckchen and Pop, who are currently serving time in Chemnitz Prison. In respectful co-operation, an artistic examination of everyday prison life was created without illustrating or reducing it. Instead of documentary images or voyeuristic depictions, works have been created that raise questions rather than providing answers. The images provide perspectives on everyday life in prison and highlight the tension between life in prison and in outside world.
Tarek Rishmawi's images offer a perspective on the work and production facilities of the prison. The compositions invite the viewer to linger on the images, as it is not always immediately clear which trades are being depicted. Luisa Hörning, together with the inmates, made use of everyday objects, turning the seemingly ordinary into a pictorial motif. She arranged personal objects into still lifes, portraying the women without showing their faces. Marleen Kölmel, on the other hand, approached the prison grounds and buildings using the cultural technique of »Flânerie«, or strolling. The result is a conceptual work that connects the photographs through a specific recurring motif in all of the images.
The 3.5 by 2.5 metre photographs will be displayed on the outer walls of the Chemnitz Prison starting on Friday, 13 June 2025. This part of the exhibition is freely accessible to visitors walking around the grounds. A second section with pictures on a smaller scale can be seen in the old dining room of the prison. Guests will have the opportunity to visit both exhibitions on the »Tag der offenen Tür« (open house day) at the prison in the autumn of 2025.
»Durch Fotografie keine Einsichten«
13 June to 30 September 2025
Vernissage:
Friday, 13 June 2025, 10 am
Entrance to the Prison
Welcoming address by the Director of the Department of Justice, Jörn Goeckenjan
Welcoming address by Jürgen Frank, Senior Government Director
Introduction by Pio Rahner, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Exhibition Venue:
Justizvollzugsanstalt Chemnitz
Thalheimer Straße 29
09125 Chemnitz
Project Participants:
Anis, Moni, Chrisi, Art, Löckchen, Pop
With photography by:
Luisa Hörning, Marleen Kölmel, Tarek Rishmawi
Project Management:
Susanne Koch (Art Therapist, Chemnitz Prison)
Pio Rahner (Artistic Staff Member, Professorship of »Photography«, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar)
The exhibition can be viewed without appointment by walking around the wall.
The project is financed by the Ministry of Justice of the State of Saxony, Justizvollzugsanstalt Chemnitz (Chemnitz Prison), and the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar’s »Lehr-Ideen« fund. A co-operation project with inmates of Chemnitz Prison and students of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar with generous support from the Chemnitz Prison staff.
In case of questions, please contact Pio Rahner, artistic staff member in the Professorship of Photography, by phone +49 / 179 / 748 02 80 or by e-mail pio.rahner[at]uni-weimar.de