Co-curated by a group of learners from HM Prison Isle of Wight
7 October 2023 – 13 January 2024
John Hansard Gallery, Southampton
We were delighted to exhibit a selection of work entered into the 2023 Koestler Awards from the South West and Hampshire region at John Hansard Gallery in 2023. Around 80 pieces of artwork, music and writing were selected for display in this exhibition by a group of 10 learners at HMP Isle of Wight.
In July, our Outreach Team spent a week with an art class at HMP Isle of Wight, showing them Koestler entries from the region and asking them to co-curate this exhibition. The group carefully considered around 500 works, picking out those that particularly spoke to them as individuals and identifying themes that tied these together to come to a final selection, which they then pitched to Koestler’s Director of Arts and John Hansard Gallery’s Senior Curator.
While the group’s primary focus lay beyond depictions of prison life, and rather with works evoking memories and hopes for the future, it was still important to them to show the everyday reality of prison. A smaller number of artworks reflect the difficulties faced by many prisoners and the resulting impact on their mental health.
The title of the exhibition, Standing on the Edge, was chosen from a drawing in the show, and reflects this duality of the exhibition.
“I’ve enjoyed seeing the quality and technical ability of the artists. In particular I liked the paintings, pictures, sculptures and poems I felt put across a message or an emotion effectively.” – Co-curator from HMP Isle of Wight
You can read more about the whole project, including the curation sessions and the involvement of a wider group of learners at HMP Isle of Wight in our blog post.
Listen
Listen to the music featured in this year’s exhibition.
Age recommendation: 18+ (May contain language some people might find upsetting)
Listen hereKoestler Voices: In Conversation
13 November
We were lucky enough to meet with researchers from the University of Southampton to host a discussion and Q&A about our new anthology, ‘Koestler Voices: New Poetry from Prisons Vol. 4’, at the John Hansard Gallery. Joined by Professors from the University’s Criminal Law & International Legal Studies department, we chatted about creative responses to the criminal justice system, and the power of writing in secure settings.
Online Gallery
See a selection of work that features in this exhibition below.
Competitive Haiku
Can you imagineCompetitive haiku-ing?
I think I would win.
HM Prison Dartmoor, Commended Award for Poem
Competitive Haiku
Competitive Haiku
HM Prison Dartmoor, Commended Award for Poem
One October Afternoon
On
the first proper day
of autumn the four of us
took
kites, walked over to
the clifftop park by the sea
then
ran across the grass
holding them high above our
heads –
they somersaulted
till they got tangled up and
I
had to cut our lines
apart. And what if we could
go
back there? – see them rise
this time – see how we too soar
this
time – look around us,
look at all the beautiful
things
there are to see from
this great height – the beaches and
cliffs
and Sully Island
and the Barrage and Cardiff
Bay
and the promenades
of windy chiming sea air –
clouds
the cafe and the
Channel and the sailing boats
and
the far Somerset
hills where Grandad lived when he
was
still alive – because
now we’ll be everywhere. So
wave
at all the people
gazing up at us – and let’s
not
fall back down just yet
because for this afternoon
all
four of us will be –
just once – everywhere again.
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Highly Commended Award for Poem
One October Afternoon
One October Afternoon
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Highly Commended Award for Poem
Orange Tree Girl
I love the wayYou paint your face
Not as if you are the exhibition
But the entire gallery
Displayed doe eyes that have leaked silver
Now a filled complexion of a summer peach
I love the way
You turn your pain into words
So it can decay into moonlight
I love the way
You share your sweet fruits
With rotting trees
Even when your roots become a necklace of suffering
And I love the way
You have bloomed despite it all
And I’ll miss you
Orange tree girl
Austen House (secure children’s home), Gold Award and 18 and Under Special Award for Poetry Collection
Orange Tree Girl
Orange Tree Girl
Austen House (secure children’s home), Gold Award and 18 and Under Special Award for Poetry Collection
Aubade
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Commended Award for Poem
Let Me Finish
I sit alone at night,deep in the blessed escape
of a fictional place.
The news, harsh reality, shut out.
I get lost in the narrative.
The journey, hopes and fears;
in yellowed pages it’s all so near.
Focusing to shut out talk of war.
I hone in on the setting.
It’s beautifully vivid and real.
I can feel the generations who have shared it.
Yet still anxiety creeps close.
I study the structure
and beside me I imagine the author.
What hidden truth is he whispering to me?
Ignore the siren, it’s almost over.
Suddenly I can see so clear!
The words on the page
glowing at the end of an age.
The outside can be shut out no more.
I sigh deeply, and close the book.
So close, just one chapter to go,
but its end I shall never know.
My eyes gaze out to the horizon.
Then turn to ash.
HM Prison Channings Wood, Commended Award for Poem
Let Me Finish
Let Me Finish
HM Prison Channings Wood, Commended Award for Poem
Asleep in My Cell
And so it is,with Herculean might,
I throw my consciousness
into the night.
In return
with dark disguise
creep, moth-like,
shadows to my eyes.
Dreams write themselves
on bark of trees,
slip into my mind
with practised ease.
And though the elements of fate
do what they can to erode my heart,
when gentle Dawn opens the gate
I still know day and night apart.
HM Prison Ashfield, Commended Award for Poem
Asleep in My Cell
Asleep in My Cell
HM Prison Ashfield, Commended Award for Poem
At Dusk, You Can Hear the Men Calling
after the poem of the same name by Tim LiardetWell that’s a way of putting it I guess. And yes –
to someone who drives home each evening we might
well sound like drowning men – whatever that sounds like.
I myself once tried drowning and it was soundless.
Our minds might well conjure up answerphones
in empty houses. Some would say we’re acting out
of despair or whatever. But our yard at night
is nothing special – having a row or chatting
shit or talking window to window doesn’t ask
to be romanced into a litany of losses.
If it needs parsing then it is – if anything –
ownership and community. In other words
what window-calling sounds like from another cell
is just continuing our day by other means.
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Highly Commended Award for Poem
At Dusk, You Can Hear the Men Calling
At Dusk, You Can Hear the Men Calling
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Highly Commended Award for Poem
Feininger’s Boat
HM Prison The Verne, Silver Award for Mixed Media, 2023
Mr. Burrell – Death Row Survivor
HM Prison The Verne, Commended Award for Portrait, 2023
Horizons
HM Prison Ashfield, Painting, 2023
Chicken
Fromeside Clinic (secure mental health unit), Mixed Media, 2023
Boots
Fromeside Clinic (secure mental health unit), Painting, 2023
Free Speech in Bloom
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Paper Craft Highly Commended Award for Craft, 2023
Sunflowers
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Outstanding Debut Award for Mixed Media, 2023
The Siege of Fray Bentos
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Platinum Award for Matchstick Model, 2023
Country Walk
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Painting, 2023
Scarecrow
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Painting, 2023
My Last Days Afloat the Sea Gem
HM Prison The Verne, Bronze Award for Painting, 2023
Black Star on Fire
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Painting, 2023
Amy (Not Quite Back to Black)
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Portrait, 2023
Sun, Sea and Sand
HM Prison Eastwood Park, Commended Award for Mixed Media, 2023
Dreaming
HM Prison Bristol, Painting, 2023
Lambretta Sign
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Calligraphy, 2023
A Day in the Life … of the Island
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Mixed Media, 2023
A Day in the Life of a Jack Rabbit
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Highly Commended Award for Pastel, 2023
Containment Inhibition
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Bronze Award for Matchstick Model, 2023
Lord, What Have I Done
HM Prison Winchester, Painting, 2023
View From My Mind 3D
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Craft, 2023
Poor Little Rich Girl
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Portrait, 2023
The VW
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Drawing, 2023
Visual Acuity
HM Prison Exeter, Painting, 2023
Sir Antelope
HM Prison Channings Wood, Drawing, 2023
Exploring Colour
HM Prison Dartmoor, Painting, 2023
God Save the King
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Painting, 2023
Brick Life
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Themed Category: A Day in the Life, 2023
RIP IPP’s
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Bronze Award for Sculpture, 2023
Smile
HM Prison Exeter, Portrait, 2023
My Emotions
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Drawing, 2023
Animalistic
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Mixed Media, 2023
Pots to Pots
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Dalrymple Silver Award for Sculpture, 2023
Loose Lips Sink Ships
HM Prison Erlestoke, Painting, 2023
Threshold
HM Prison Exeter, Bronze Award for Pastel, 2023
Hope Eternal
HM Prison The Verne, Painting, 2023
Portland Stone
HM Prison The Verne, Silver Award for Painting, 2023
The Great Maestro
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Highly Commended Award for Sculpture, 2023
No! Our Flag Means Death!
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Painting, 2023
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
Bournemouth Probation Office, Sculpture, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (10)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (9)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (8)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (7)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (6)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (5)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (4)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (3)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022) (2)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Sssh! Stolen Seagull Scavenger Hunt (Library and Arts Community Project 2022)
HM Prison Channings Wood, Highly Commended Award for Arts Project, 2023
Welcome to Sell
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Albany), Sculpture, 2023
Stop. Unity, Peace.
HM Prison Exeter, Bronze Award for Sculpture, 2023
Wizard’s Tower
HM Prison Ashfield, Commended Award for Craft, 2023
All My Life…
HM Prison Channings Wood, Printmaking, 2023
Self-Portrait
HM Prison Channings Wood, Painting, 2023
23 Hour Partly People
HM Prison Channings Wood, Drawing, 2023
Dusk in Paradise
HM Prison Channings Wood, Painting, 2023
Octopus
HM Prison Channings Wood, Painting, 2023
A Covered Up System
HM Prison Channings Wood, Drawing, 2023
Hekate
The Nelson Trust Women’s Centre. Highly Commended Award for Mixed Media, 2023
First Thoughts
HM Prison Eastwood Park, Drawing, 2023
Pressed Flower Gift Cards
Fromeside Clinic (secure mental health unit), Bronze Award for Handmade Greetings Card, 2023
Attempted Study of Autumn Leaf
HM Prison Eastwood Park, Painting, 2023
Oops!
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Drawing, 2023
Standing on the Edge
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Drawing, 2023
Sweet
Specialist Community Forensic Team (secure mental health unit), Photography, 2023
Inspirational Snooker Player
Wellesley Hospital, Bronze Award for Portrait, 2023
The Daily Walk
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Painting, 2023
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), Painting, 2023
Untitled #3
Vinney Green (secure children’s home), Fast Feedback Commended Award for Painting, 2023
Expressionless
Vinney Green (secure children’s home), Fast Feedback Commended Award for Painting, 2023
How Are You?
Atkinson Secure Children’s Home, Highly Commended Award for Painting, 2023
Belle the Cat
Atkinson Secure Children’s Home, Outstanding Debut Award and 18 and Under Highly Commended Award for Painting, 2023
Creative Responses
Visual artwork from HMP Isle of Wight (Parkhurst) inspired by the poetry in this exhibition.
One October Afternoon
Watercolour, HMP Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Aubade
Mixed Media, HMP Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Orange Tree Girl
Mixed Media, HMP Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
One October Afternoon
Mixed Media, HMP Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Let Me Finish
Woodcraft, HMP Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Aubade
Drawing, HMP Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Rising Forest
Drawing, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), inspired by the poem ‘Asleep in my Cell’
One October Afternoon
Watercolour, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Orange Tree Girl
Painting, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Aubade
Painting, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Orange Tree Girl
Craft, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Carousel Projector
Craft, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), inspired by the poem ‘Let me finish’
People Are Starting But You Remain Huddled
Drawing, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), inspired by the poem ‘Aubade’
One October Afternoon
Painting, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Orange Tree Girl
Watercolour, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Let Me Finish
Painting, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Competitive Haiku
Watercolour, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Orange Tree Girl
Painting, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Orange Tree Girl
Drawing, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Asleep in my cell
Mixed Media, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Let Me Finish
Drawing, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
One October Afternoon
Drawing, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Earth
Painting, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst), inspired by poem ‘Orange Tree Girl’
Asleep in my cell
Drawing, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
One October Afternoon
Drawing, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
Let Me Finish
Drawing, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst),
Let Me Finish
Printmaking (Mono-print), HM Prison Isle of Wight (Parkhurst)
