Visions From The Inside

CultureStrike in partnership with Familia Trans Queer Liberation Movement , End Family Detention , Families For Freedom , NWDC Resistance and 12 artists from across the country, brings you Visions From The Inside, a visual art project inspired by letters penned by detained migrants. By visually illustrating these letters we aim to bring awareness and a better sense of the realities that people are experiencing inside of for-profit detention facilities, what led them to migrate in the first place and, most importantly, highlighting the resiliency of the migrant spirit. To learn more about what you can do to spread the word about families in detention, visit: End Family Detention. Follow us: Twitter Instagram Facebook

[visionsfromtheinside]

"My hope is that they close that place. That the people in charge of taking care of detained immigrants treat us like human beings...I hope to God that he also frees the many trans girls in there because they don't deserve this." - Excerpt from Christina's letter

Artist statement: “Christina's testimony about the cruel guards, the denial of hormones and basic medical treatment, and of having to hide her trans identity exemplified the ways our immigration laws and policies constantly oppress, dehumanize, and require an extraordinary degree of resilience, particularly from those who already face extreme marginalization within our cultures. Whenever I carve a piece of linoleum I am reminded of how light helps us make sense of the dark. As such, Christina's story inspired me to imagine a God born from despair and perseverance, a God who transcends gender, who listens and frees us all. Special thanks to Christina for allowing me to artfully explore her experience, and to Thea Gahr, Shreya Shah, Sue Kamman Wilson and numerous others for helping me with this piece.” -Matice Moore

Connect with this artist on: Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.  

[visionsfromtheinside]

“I have a couple of witnesses that saw when deportation officer handcuffed me in the back and they saw when I went back to the unit with several scars and bruises and scratches in my wrists from the handcuffs.” -Excerpt from Mr. Gutierrez’ letter

Artist statement: “What I wanted to convey with this piece is emotion. The emotional toll of facing so many unjust situations and treatment, the mental and physical pain that was described by the author of the letter i illustrated, and the reaction of the guards and the man. I'm honored to be working with the brave families who have gone through so much and the organizations fighting to get their story out.” -Robert Trujillo

Connect with this artist on: Twitter Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“I didn’t come here to hurt anybody. I just came to this country trying to save my life.” Excerpt from Marlon’s letter.

Artist statement: Kristen Ramirez used gouache, watercolor, and ink on paper to create this piece that draws on vibrant color and pattern. Using the huipil ("traje de vida") as a metaphor, she draws comparisons between prison uniforms and this more humanizing, dignified clothing worn ritually to events like weddings and burials. The huipil has historically been worn by people of high ranking (women, in particular) and often used to adorn saints. It stands in as a reminder of the dignity that has been lost through irrational incarcerations.

Connect with this artist here: Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“I wish I was a butterfly flying out of this place and into my freedom” Excerpt from Maribel’s letter.

Artist statement: “I wanted to show the tension of being caught in this system, this portal of detainment. And Maribels statement of wishing to fly out of that situation like a butterfly. The wall on the other side shows shadows of the violent life that she is only trying to distance herself from by migrating. Someone told me that the actual figure looked like me and I think subconsciously it was because after reading her letter my empathy went into overdrive. I felt transported into her situation. I felt like I was there, connected to her struggle in such an intimate way. If we all could put ourselves in the place of others in this way we wouldn't have a crisis such as this. We would let people find the safety and life that we desire for ourselves. I wish her and all the detainees the liberty and life of freedom that they deserve. This illustration is my prayer.” -Crystal Clarity

Connect with this artist on: Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.  

[visionsfromtheinside]

“There is no medical attention unless they can no longer walk or get up from bed.” Excerpt from Lorena’s letter

Artist statement: “My letter is from a very strong and resilient woman named Lorena, who has been in the Irwin Detention Center for 7 months [at the time the letter was received]. In her letter she describes the oppressive, unjust and unsafe conditions that she has had to endure while being there, such as abuse from the guards, and other inmates, and a lack of medical attention for all the women. She says Latina women suffer the most abuse and are given no support to complain because they speak spanish. I wanted to reflect these unjust conditions in my illustration to give a voice to Lorena and all the women, who feel powerless in their situation. The bottom three  panels of my illustration depict a lot of restriction and dark colors to reflect the prison cells they are forced to live within. I drew prison bars as the United States flag. This flag is often presented as a symbol of freedom, which hides the fact that the U.S. government is actually a police state, incarcerating more Black, Brown and migrant peoples than any other place in the world. What stood out to me in the letter though was Lorena’s strength and love of sisterhood. Her letter reflected so much empathy and compassion for her sisters detained with her. One line in particular she says “she is hopeful and knows there is a God and that these abuses will end especially against Latina women who do not speak English because they suffer the most abuse.”  I was inspired by her faith in the conditions changing for her and her sisters, and I wanted to depict that in the top part of my illustration, where you see a very divine Brown woman, hands open free, surrounded by a lot of light and beauty just like our peoples. I believe that it is the faith and spirit of Black and Brown people that continues to sustain our existence and resistance.” -Francis Mead

Connect with this artist: Facebook Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and detained migrants at the Karnes Detention Center.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“The guards mistreat them because they do not speak English.” -Excerpt from Reina’s letter

Artist statement: “My practice examines the brown body, the battleground into which events, perceptions and laws are formed. The Latino body has been the setting of exploitation, marginalization, and persecution. The manipulation of the painting surface, and the act of physically cutting into paper or prints are metaphors for wounds, brands, and communal stereotypes imposed on “these people,” and it causes the viewer to ask how long a group of people can withstand losing parts of themselves. In my work, I choose cutting paper and other surfaces as a crucial technique because it evokes the crafts and customs taught to me as a toddler in Oaxaca, where they continue to be used as techniques to celebrate festivals and mourn the dead. By cutting into maps, paintings, and prints, I take what the mainstream media portrays and rearrange it so that I can finally say my side of this story. I am taking what has been endured by “los invisibles” and putting real faces and narratives to a group that has too often been forgotten.” -Fidencio Martinez

Connect with this artist on: Instagram  Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“Since coming to prison at the age of 19 years old and being a high school drop out, I have accomplished a whole lot by getting two college degrees. My institution record is fairly clean with many, many accomplishments to show rehabilitation.” -Excerpt from anonymous letter

Artist statement: “The imagery is about the idea of being stuck between a rock and a hard place, detention and deportation, symbolized by the two different kinds of fences and how difficult it can be navigate the paperwork and legalities of the prison/immigration system.  I chose the razor wire halo because it's part of my visual vocabulary and it symbolizes the idea that [the detainee] is a kind of martyr of the detention system. Behind the detainee is a prison watch tower which becomes a kind of chapel over his head. His face is a calavera because again, he's a martyr but it's also a play on the idea of Habeas Corpus which is a statute that has been gutted in order to deny people their due process. The title of the work is Habeas Corpse, and it's a satirical commentary on our broken immigration/prison system.  I was trying to address his intersectionality of being a prisoner but also an immigrant.” -Celeste De Luna

Connect with this artist on: Twitter Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“The way I see it, this place is a human warehouse.” -Excerpt from Pavel’s letter

Artist statement: ​“My work depicts a portrait of a detainee, silenced by U.S government policy and corruption.  The barcode on his forehead represents the ICE militarized industrial complex and the dehumanization of immigrant lives as a physical product within this system. There is a trail of detainees slowly losing their identity and disappearing into the distance.  Similarly, the concrete background represents institutional imprisonment and stolen lives, while the dandelions, a symbol of overcoming hardship and adversity, reveal a contradiction in society; in many contexts they are considered a pest or a weed. Yet in truth, they are a beautiful flower that represents faithfulness and has powerful healing properties.”  -Louis Chinn

Connect with this artist on: Instagram Facebook Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“Dealing with an ankle monitor you don’t feel free even in the outside. You have a specific time that you can go out and you have to ask for permission. You still feel like you’re imprisoned. That’s not living.” -Excerpt from Angela’s letter

Artist statement: “In my work I aim to catch the spontaneity of what I'm feeling with or without words. A line that really stuck out to me [in the letter] was: to get to this country, one suffers a lot. It says a lot in one sentence. I wanted to make a design based image that incorporates an image of perceived freedom (lines in the flag) and incarceration (prison bars) together.” -Ebin Lee

Connect with this artist on: Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“I already paid and served time for my wrong doings. Now I’m sitting at an ICE detention center for the past five months trying to fight my case and fight for my freedom to stay here in the U.S. with my son and my family.” -Excerpt from Ms. Rodriguez’ letter

Artist statement: “This year I am deeply inspired by other POC comic book artists/illustrators to use comics as a way to create authentic stories that are highly political and personal. The black and white comic is a short series of panels that illustrate a migrant woman painting the U.S. flag while she shares an inner monologue; which comes directly from Rodriguez who is currently detained at Hudson County Correctional County in New Jersey. Then a hand with a cuff that reads as "ICE" stretches to grab the woman's face to represent the anti-migrant sentiments and policies that remove a person's sense of belonging to the U.S.” -Breena Nuñez

Connect with this artist on: Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“It seemed so strange to me that you can be held in jail for your own protection.” -Excerpt from Ms. Horton’s letter

Artist statement: “I was introduced to this mother's story through a letter and three drawings she had made of young children. One of the drawings read "Happy Mother's Day" and had a mother clutching a small baby to her chest with lilies in the background. As I read her letter explaining her twisted, torturous nightmare, I kept thinking about the baby in the drawing, the heartache and desperation of being torn from your children and family for a loitering charge, the trauma of being dehumanized and broken by a system that does not want you here, and trying to survive the days by just holding on to memories of a past that already seems so far away. This is what's happening. This is her reality and the reality of so many other women and mothers in detention. As an undocumented artist, to have had the privilege of working on this piece and sharing this mother's story is something I truly will not forget.” -Rommy Torrico

Connect with this artist on: Twitter Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“To the people that don’t like immigrants I would tell them that we’re only migrating to save our lives.” -Excerpt from Lilian’s letter

Artist statement: “My work focuses on the experience of a young madre y luchadora (mother and fighter), Lilian Olivia Bardales and her 5 year old son. Lilian was deported back to Honduras after self-harming at a Texas family detention center; where her treatment was nothing but a dehumanizing threat from the state. Despite this, Lilian was to return to the United States after the highest immigration court ruled that she did not receive the legal counsel her situation demanded, the eight months she was held at a south Texas family detention center. This ruling was revolutionary, as it may assist other deported individuals to name the inadequate treatment they may have received in detention, and the potential opportunity to continue their case in the United States. Initially, Lilian was denied asylum because she was no longer with the partner who violently attacked her multiple times. This is the system we are living in and the system we are working against. Lilian’s story is rare; yet sits in a volatile state, as a family who has been tossed back and forth between safety and the system, for reasons with very much to do with patriarchy, and very little to do with justice. Lilian’s family knows seguridad (security) can come with desorden (dissaray): small increments of paz (peace) that may not last forever. La esperanza y la resistencia son sintomas de la migracion (hope and resistance are symptoms of migration). Hope and resistance is resilience under the pressure.” -Cristy C. Road

Connect with this artist on: Twitter Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“People are afraid to speak out. Some because they don’t know what’s going on and because they think that this is how things should be.” - Excerpt from Angel’s letter

Artist statement: “My letter is from a Salvadorean detainee who has been living in the US for 34 years and is been detained for something he did when he was 17 years old. He has cancer and is being refused medical treatment. Because his name is Angel, I was inspired by the imagery of an angel being caught in a web of injustice. The figure inside his chest represents his 17-year-old self being hanged while cancer cells grow in his body. The bird flying from his mouth symbolizes the possibility of liberation through voicing the truth of his experience through this letter.” Miss TANGQ

Connect with this artist on: Twitter Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“If they let me go, I want to go and help my mother. I don’t have any money and I suffer so much in here. But I do have hope.” - Excerpt from Marlon’s letter

Artist statement: “Working on this piece was truly enlightening. To read Mr. Vaz’s words about his experience — with the context and understanding that his voice is just one among thousands of immigrants detained — breaks my heart. This is happening to families right now, and I cannot fathom the heartache they feel knowing their loved one is being subjected to such hellish treatment.” -Ethan Parker

Connect with this artist on: Instagram Twitter  Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and immigrants facing the for-profit detention monster.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“I dream of getting out of this place…to be able to study one day…to have a better future for my life.” -Excerpt from letter

Artist statement: “It is damning to realize that we live in a society that keeps young people from learning, from participating in their own childhood, from creating and nurturing friendships. Jackeline's earnest words force us to pause and consider why we would keep a young girl locked in a place often worse than prison. In my illustration, I wanted to evoke the sensations of feeling trapped and suffocated to show that immigration detention is not a humane place for anyone to exist in, let alone a child. How can we justify keeping Jackeline from an education when learning is all she can dream of? How can we justify Jackeline losing her friends, multiples at a time? How can we justify spending so much money on keeping Jackeline and her family locked in a place that only breeds depression? Our society needs to be reminded that being an immigrant does not make you any less human.” -Dolly Li

Connect with this artist on: Twitter Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and detained migrants at the Karnes Detention Center.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“I am afraid that if I stay in this center something could happen to me or my daughter because ICE tries to cover up everything and all news that happen here.” -Excerpt from letter

Artist statement: “I created this piece to depict both the dignity and the suffering that women endure in for-profit detention centers.  The women detained in Karnes County Detention Center have endured physical abuse, rape by prison guards, and the constant sicknesses of their children. In this piece, I wanted to show the ways in which prison degrades and abuses women. I used a jagged brush stroke to show the harshness of detention, and the human suffering of women who come to this country in search of a safe haven. This piece should reminds us that detention is still the reality in the US, continually defended by the Obama Administration. Although some women are being released, they are forced to wear ankle monitoring bracelets. The text in the piece is an excerpt from a letter by Lilian Oliva, age 19, who was discovered in a family detention center bathroom bleeding from cuts to her wrist. Her letter said, "You don’t understand that people’s lives has no price...I come here so this country can help me but here you’ve been killing me little by little with punishment and lies in prison when I haven’t committed any crime." Lilian, who had been held with her 4-year-old son since October 2014, was deported in June 2015.”

Connect with this artist on: Twitter Instagram Website

Visions From The Inside is a collaborative project between visual artists and detained migrants at the Karnes Detention Center.

[visionsfromtheinside]

“Our great fear is that they will deport us without giving us any notice and without us having any communication with our families or lawyer” -Excerpt from letter

Artist statement: “I want the audience to capture the journey this family has gone through - from the violence they experienced in their home country and natural desire for change, to the courage it takes to move from somewhere unsafe and come to the US - and then the juxtaposition of the "hopes" for a safe haven versus the reality of the situation.” -Rose Jaffe  

Connect with this artist on: Twitter  Instagram  Website