A filthy mattress lies in the corner of an otherwise barren room. The only adornments here, screwed to the wall, are a metal table and a payphone. But this is no ordinary prison. Rather, it’s a north London gallery which has been temporarily converted into a humid, fetid cell. For 72 hours, it will cage an artist in solitary confinement.
Cell 72: The Cost of Confinement at Harlesden High Street Gallery is the work of young American conceptualist Emmanuel Massillon, with fellow Washington DC artist Allen-Golder Carpenter performing the role of inmate for three days. The gallery is tiny, its glass storefront giving passersby an open view of its cramped, inhumane quarters. What they will see over the course of the performance is a black man in prison-issue attire, incarcerated behind one-way glass, suffering through the ignominy and humiliation of solitary confinement. It is a stark reminder of the cruelty currently being endured by thousands of prisoners who have fallen victim to the American prison industrial complex.
