My project is a reflection of my correspondence with Terry, a man currently housed in prison in Michigan. Based on the limited materials and lack of basic necessities available to him, he has adapted to being very resourceful.
I initially wanted to take this opportunity to emphasise my criticisms of the prison system but I quickly realised that it would be unrealistic to tackle such a big and nuanced subject through one final garment. So i focused on maintaining regular correspondence with Terry, exchanging tips and crafts and just keeping in touch.
Limiting myself to the items available in prison, I experimented with materials such as crisp packets, oranges, batteries, gum wrappers, toilet paper and bedsheets.
The techniques I developed during my research can be replicated in prison: without an oven, the oranges can be dried out in the sun or by the window and the beads are made by rolling up crisp packets. They are secured by being burnt at the edges, and this can be achieved with a lighter made out of a battery and gum wrapper.
