In the month of June of 1996, two women, by the names of Delphine Aquizno and Elicia Roberts, escaped from the Woman's Barkley Prison in Lincoln, Vermont. The two, who had been arrested as a duo working together in a crime, had been put in isolation. However, somehow they were able to coordinate plans and escape successfully. How this was conducted is unknown, but it is believed they escaped through the main gate of the prison, as it was found open by authorities later.
This unbelievable escape is not the focus of this site, however: When authorities investigated what might have allowed them to escape, they discovered these drawings in their jail cells. They had been signed on the back by Delphine or Elicia, showing that they were their pictures. Oddly enough, some of one's pictures were in the other's cell, but no further investigation into them ever amounted to find any conclusions as to this being a signifigance.
I managed to stumble upon these pictures, and I must say, I believe they convey the meaning behind life in prison, and show the reasons as to why they wished to escape. I have uploaded these pictures, so Elica and Delphine's art will be known about the world, their voices being heard.
What follows is their art. You can click on a photo to see the full size picture.
The Raging Bull
I felt this picture contained much meaning. Here, the artist (Elicia in this case) has drawn what appears to be a self potrait. However, she has given herself bull-like characteristics, and branded her on her neck. A red cloth waves in the back, suggesting somebody is taunting her. This all leads to my conclusion about the sketch: Elicia is being taunted and degraded in Prison, being treated like a bull you might say.
The Butterfly
This picture, again done by Elicia seemed to more confuse me really...it is clear that the butterfly here represents freedom, as it flies up into the clouds, something clearly desired in prison. However, the numbers seem a little random. I don't know what to fully make of this still, but the sketch seems to be nicely done.
Imprisoned Dove
This picture belonged to Delphine, and shows a great deal of artistic talent. In addition, it by far is the most meaningful. The dove is inside a jail cell, built of stone and placed behind bars. I believe the dove potrays innocence, while the jail is obviously imprisonment. Also, the dove is facless and somewhat defeathered, as tears roll down its cheecks. This tells us that the dove is suffering. The jail is drawn in a dark fashion, showing imprisonment. The message here is clear once again: Delphine was innocent. However, she was stuck in prison, and suffering as a result. Yet again we see numbers, and this time some punctuation marks. I do am not able to make any sense of these numbers really.
In conclusion, I feel this art has some meaning and true talent could have shone here more if they had been given a proper art program in jail. Hopefully such services will one day be given to convicts, allowing them to pursue a different life when they leave jail.
