Untitled
2016 - Drawing & Print (Drawing & Print)
27.94 x 21.59 cm
James "Yaya" Hough
This untitled ink and pencil drawing by James “Yaya” Hough is made on what the artist calls “institutional paper”, or the state-issued forms that monitor the daily activities of prisoners, of which, each detainee is generally required to fill out in triplicate. This drawing uses a pink form on which an inmate can list telephone contacts for approval. The drawing depicts two uniformed figures, with backwards feet, berating a figure on a toilet. This figure is encapsulated under a head-shaped structure that inhibits the movement of the detainee, while windows in the structure allow the ‘guards’ to surveil the detainee. Behind the seated figure is another lying on a bed, trapped by another mechanical structure, as if in an assembly line. The power of this artwork is two-fold. Firstly, it appropriates and documents the system’s formal processes of control. But is also addresses the artist’s reflections on this method of terror, often through surrealistic, if not nightmarish, imagery in which bodies are sliced, tethered, dominated, and treated like fodder for the machine. To illustrate this relation, the works are framed in such a fashion so that the recto and verso of each document is visible.
Working in ballpoint pen, pencil, and watercolor, often on the backs of bureaucratic prison forms, James “Yaya” Hough’s work conveys the burdens of incarcerated life, revealing not only the brutal reach of the carceral system, but laying bare its affects. Sentenced to life without parole in 1992, Hough went to prison at age 17; after 27 years, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that such sentences for juveniles is unconstitutional, and Hough was released. The artist, both independently, and as a member of a network of other artists who share a similar history, is one of the key voices working at the intersection of art and the criminal justice system today.
Colors:
Other related works, blended automatically
» see more
© » KADIST
James "Yaya" Hough
2016This untitled ink and pencil drawing by James “Yaya” Hough is made on what the artist calls “institutional paper”, or the state-issued forms that monitor the daily activities of prisoners, of which, each detainee is generally required to fill out in triplicate...
Related works sharing similar palette
» see more
© » THEARTNEWSPER
Neglected middle class may be key to growing stagnant art market Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Art market analysis Neglected middle class may be key to growing stagnant art market The spotlight tends to fall on big spenders, but what of “professional class” buyers, who often feel intimidated by the art world? Scott Reyburn 11 December 2023 Share Injecting new life: initiatives such as Avant Arte and Artist Support Pledge that attract less well-off collectors could revive a flat market Photo: splitov27 Art Basel and UBS recently issued their latest annual Survey of Global Collecting , which analyses the habits and attitudes of more than 2,800 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) across the world...
© » KADIST
Helina Metaferia
2023By Way of Revolution is a series of works by Helina Metaferia that addresses the inherited histories of protest that inform contemporary social movements...
Other works by: » James "Yaya" Hough
» see more
© » KADIST
James "Yaya" Hough
2016This untitled ink and pencil drawing by James “Yaya” Hough is made on what the artist calls “institutional paper”, or the state-issued forms that monitor the daily activities of prisoners, of which, each detainee is generally required to fill out in triplicate...
© » KADIST
James "Yaya" Hough
2016This untitled ink and pencil drawing by James “Yaya” Hough is made on what the artist calls “institutional paper”, or the state-issued forms that monitor the daily activities of prisoners, of which, each detainee is generally required to fill out in triplicate...
Related works found in the same semantic group
» see more
© » KADIST
Michael Rakowitz
2017The Ballad of Special Ops Cody by Michael Rakowitz is a serio-comic stop motion animated film in which an everyday African-American G...
© » ARTS EQUATOR
"7Voices 2.0" by Yayasan Chow Kit and Dramalab at George Town Festival 2018 | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles September 20, 2018 By Akanksha Raja (830 words, four minute read) Before entering the performance space on the first floor lobby of The Whiteaways Arcade where 7Voices 2.0 takes place, my friend Denise and I are approached by two young “inspectors” demanding documentary proof that we were children...
© » KADIST
Prabhakar Pachpute
2020Calling attention to campaigns for land rights, survival, and sovereignty, Prabhakar Pachpute’s recent works consider how farmers in India use their bodies in performative ways during acts of protest...
© » KADIST
Maryam Hoseini
2019Secrets Between Her and Her Shadow 10 by Maryam Hoseini is from a series of paintings of the same title that are inspired by the story Layla and Majnun – an Arabic love story about Majnun, a 7th century Bedouin poet, and his lover, Layla...