News/Research

Revisited: Degrees of Visibility

18 Apr, 2017

Revisited: Degrees of Visibility

We were pleased to be able to host Ashley Hunt on April 17th as part of Commons Conversations: Technology and Public Life in Changing Times. Ashley spoke about his current project “Degrees of Visibility,” in which he photographs the (in)visibility of the ubiquitous prisons throughout the fifty U.S. states and territories. Ashley’s inquiry forms in part an argument on the aesthetics of mass incarceration and seems to suggest that elision and illegibility plays an enabling role in the massive growth of the American prison-industrial complex. In this project, Ashley aims to make his work useful to those activists on the ground fighting to end mass incarceration. As such, in his exhibitions he seeks to ensure that worlds collide and partners with local organizations to feature their work alongside his art. Ultimately, Ashley hopes that “Degrees of Visibility” will build a literacy around the ubiquity of prisons that those with the privilege to not recognize these architectures are able to see their prevalence.

2017 Commons Conversations: Ashley Hunt