I have always been passionate about being aware of the experience of those in the criminal justice system. If it wasn't graphic design it would have been law, however I think there is equally a lot of good that research and the arts can do to help these people.

Ava Duvernay's series 'When They See Us' was an influential source of inspiration for the passion I have in helping young people involved in the criminal justice system. I highly encourage everyone to watch and further educate themselves on the story of the Central Park 5 and the prison experience before and after. 

Last year I wrote a research paper on prison architecture and its impact on inmate mental health.

The main point that this research revealed was how much the institutions built to help people get better, make them feel and behave worse. 

This research has been influential in the further research  conducted within this project. Investigating how the institutions built to set young people up for a successful life, set some up for failure instead.

‘Still Human’ was a social justice campaign intending to raise awareness and support for previously incarcerated individuals attempting to reintegrate into society; an often forgotten and de-humanised sector of our society. This passion was reignited in initial discussions with a leader in the accessibility field; accessibility for undiagnosed youth with behavioral challenges, identified as a difficult sector for where accessibility is current at. This gap even within the industry has inspired this project.

To further understand this direction I took the time to reflect on the practices of artists/activists that inspire this research.

Jean-Micheal Basquait is the opitimie of self-expression. The neoexpressionist handing of materials communicates human expression in rawest form. It is a balanced act of release and restoration that fascintates me.

Seeing a single colour canvas hung in a gallery used to make me angry - art? But I get it now. The single colour is made up on many.
Layers of time, carefully crafting an emotion. If you spend enough time with a Rothko you can feel a shift within.

Pollock...the use of body, movement and expression.

Erin Gruwell was an English teacher turned activist. She transformed the lives of many disengaged students by teaching them how they can use their voice to tell their own stories. Gruwell engaged her English class by getting them to write diary entries to express themselves.
These diaries are now collated into a transformative book ‘Freedom Writers’.