Paintings by prisoners to be exhibited

20 March 2018

​More than 50 paintings by La Moye prisoners will go on display this week as part of the annual art exhibition.

The inmates’ work will showcase their artwork and crafts and will be exhibited from this Thursday at The Harbour Gallery, St Aubin, until 8 April.

Home Affairs Minister Deputy Kristina Moore is due to open the ‘Inside Out’ exhibition, organised by Lucy Blackmore at HMP La Moye, which has been described as a true voice from the inside.

Deputy Moore said: “Paintings have been created either to express an emotion or to represent a hero or sense of place. Prisoners are learning and developing creative skills well in recreational sessions at La Moye prison, most notably in art where most prisoners are at beginner or intermediate level.
“Independent inspectors recently highlighted the positive atmosphere in all the recreational sessions observed at La Moye, as well as the mutual respect between prisoners and teachers.”

Deputy Moore added: “I would encourage people to come along to the exhibition, share feedback and take a look at the creative work that is happening at HMP La Moye.”

Some of the artwork is for sale and is priced individually. Prisoners pay for the materials they have used and a percentage goes to charity. This year the chosen charity is Rock2Recovery.

Prisoners attend art lessons once a week with art teacher Lucy Blackmore.

Lucy said: “I teach prisoners how to use different materials and media and then their creative journey is self-led, with guidance and technical input from me. There is also an opportunity to attend six-week courses. This year I have been running ceramic courses due to a significant increase in interest. Ceramics is a valuable tool in prison as it allows energy to go into the physicality of clay.
“It is not the subjective standard of the art that matters, it is the learning journey and the positive impact it has on self-esteem and family that is the measure of success.”

Some of the comments from the prisoners attending the art lessons:

“I find art very helpful and relaxing.”
“I really enjoy art lessons as they are very good for calming down.”
“I find it very helpful and relaxing as well.”
“Education in Jersey’s La Moye is good and staff give plenty of attention to it. All the staff are very helpful, especially Lucy the art teacher.”
“I find art very good and I am receiving great teaching from Lucy, thank you.”
“I get so much out of art thanks to Lucy. I find it very relaxing and calming and it gets me through the week. Lucy is always helpful and full of great ideas, it is very rewarding at the end.
“Art has many beneficial factors, many more than people would think. The exhibition gives me a chance to connect with the world and the people close to me who I don’t get to spend much time with.”