Jail Series

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The Jail Series consists of thirty-two images photographed in the early seventies. The following is from the introductory catalog when the National Photographic Collection exhibited these images in a one-man show in Ottawa in 1981 and 1982.

"The Archives Looks at ……. Behind Bars'

A Photo Essay by Spiteri

Jails, it seems, are a recurring source of guilt and concern for those members of society who have never been inside. For well over a century prison reform groups have lobbied to change the penal system with only minor success. Jails are more modern and more sanitary. There are obvious attempts at rehabilitation through training, education and medical treatment. Yet prisons remain tight little societies, equally capable of an education in crime as socially acceptable skills.

The photographs presented here were taken by Calgary photographer Ed Spiteri in 1971 at two Alberta prisons, Lethbridge Provincial Jail in Lethbridge and Spy Hill Provincial Jail in Calgary. They are notable for their concentration on the surroundings of the prisoners rather than on the men themselves. Only the guards have faces. When the prisoners do appear it is only in bits and pieces: clasped hands or disembodied arms playing cards. Bars everywhere limit movement. The nature of prison life is drawn through details, which suggest the strong undercurrents not evident in the empty halls. Graffiti, a bullet hole, a bunch of keys, a closed door symbolize a complex of ideas and emotions, which the viewer is left to fill in. In one of the most dramatic photographs the face of a guard fills the tiny square opening in a solitary confinement cell presenting us with a prisoner's viewpoint of the system.

Spiteri is well known for his documentary work. The Glenbow Museum has recently finished touring an exhibition based on his notable essay on the Hutterites of Alberta. His work has appeared in a number of national exhibitions and he has published several books of photographs."

Andrew J Birrell/Director
National Photography Collection

Spiteri was awarded a "Master of the Leica" (camera) when the Photographs were published in Germany.

This series of photographs is in the permanent collection of the National Photographic Collection of Archives Canada.

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