"I view my work as a means to educate people about the experience of being inside. I want to collaborate with others who have had similar experiences in order to deescalate mass incarceration and utilize my work as a way of giving back."

"Most individuals who observe my work at a glance are prone to say: “It’s abstract, it’s expressionistic, modern.” It may be, but I believe that to categorize is to marginalize, and such labels I defy. My work includes personal elements conveying the unfettered spirit and soul. Creativity provides meaning when all else fails. The work is alive. It summons willing participants to hold dialogues, to be educated, to elevate their spirit and consciousness to the unknown. Through these paintings I am a vessel transmitting for the voiceless, rendering a symphony of balance and pure energy, reflections of the past, present and future. Layers of dichotomous elements are symbolic to what exists in this life and thereafter.

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Making art has always been instrumental in my journey through life. Being incarcerated forces you to have to acclimate and accept the conditions of life in a new world where rules and regulations are met from both the jailed and jailers. To survive is key. Creating becomes much more serious in such an environment, but with so many restrictions and rules about “what you can and cannot have,” you again must adapt and become super resourceful; the adage “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” becomes so real. 

For a long time, I salvaged all sorts of discarded materials, foraging for what I viewed as being useful for the next masterpiece. Having created many works throughout my time in prison, I find that people (in the free community) are usually amazed to discover that I use such nontraditional materials. The works possess a raw grittiness that I think could not be achieved if not for the material and manner in which they are used."

 

- Spel, 2022

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*Images may not be duplicated for any purpose without the express permission of Spel*