Drawings and Narrative: the Inmates Memory and Experience (At the Prison of Monsanto)

Resumo

In the first part of this communication we present the underlying questions of the research held in the Prison of Monsanto (PM), as well as its theoretical framework and the specific situation regarding the context – the prison space – in an outside-in perspective. We aim to approach the relationship and social problematics inherent in a prison institution and in an exercise of power (Foucault, 1997), according to a point of view that regards the space, the place and the supporting conditions of the experiences and life experiences of the inmate, specifically the inter-relationships between the space and the subjects, in a closed environment.
In the second part, which is directly related to the research, we aim to understand the space perception and representation of the inmates, following the reverse view (insideout). Through this, we analyze the communication acts, which are a result of the direct contact with the inmates and the registration of the provided elements. Along with these records, we supply their drawings and work developed within the Creative Arts Studio (CAS). This research, as stated in the Arts of Making (Certeau, 1990), allows us to know the inmate’s point of view, his perception and his graphic and social representation of the space – his experiences and life experience. There were twenty-one inmates taking part in this research, from 2007 to 2011.
Lastly, through the idea of narrative images, it was suggested that the drawing would work as a body for the social narrative, as a communication strategy and as a revelation of the knowledge and counter-knowledge that takes place in a disciplinary institution.