Tamms Year Ten invited prisoners in solitary confinement in Illinois to request a photograph of anything in the world, real or imagined. The idea was to give prisoners in extreme isolation a chance to see something they want to see, used to see, or may never see.

The requests poured in and we are now seeking artists and photographers to take a photo and join the project.

WE INVITE PHOTOGRAPHERS TO POST THEIR PHOTOS A BLOG ENTRY AT KITES CAMPAIGNS or email them to us as a link or attachment at team@thousandkites.org

1. A grey & white (mix) "Warmblood" horse(s) in an outdoor environment--shown in action, such as rearing up or jumping or climbing. I’d like the photo to convey freedom, strength, and the wisdom of nature.
 

Additional instructions: If possible, taken in a cold environment so that clouds of hot breath can be seen.

2. A tall brown skin brother with neat 4 inch Plated Braids offering a sista a long stemmed rose + a loving smile: The brother dressed in clean shirt and pants and jacket and clean white gym shoes: sista dressed in fitting shirt and jean pants, 'cause you know a brother love a sista with curve’ 

3. I would love a photograph of a woman setting by a lake fishing, with an empty chair next to her, with a cooler of beer. And in the empty chair have a sign with FreeBird on it! And have a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the background!

Additional instructions: I’d prefer the photographer take the photo from a boat out in the lake! Also, I’d prefer a woman that’s over 40!

Together, the photographs will provide an archive of the hopes, memories and interests of the men housed in the Illinois supermax. We will use the collection for public education about the use of solitary confinement, with the goal of ending the use of long-term isolation in Illinois.

Photos for Prisoners in Solitary Confinement is a project of Tamms Year Ten, an all-volunteer grassroots coalition working with Illinois legislators to end the inhumane and misguided policies at Tamms supermax prison. We are collaborating with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture to expand this project to supermaxes in California and Virginia.

WHAT IS TAMMS? 

Tamms C-MAX, located in southern Illinois, is one of about 45 supermax prisons in the country designed for solitary confinement and sensory deprivation. Men never leave their cell except to shower or exercise in a concrete pen. Meals are pushed through a slot in the door. There are no jobs or communal activities. Suicide attempts, self-mutilation, psychosis and serious mental disorders are common at Tamms, and are an expected consequence of long-term isolation.

The U.N. Committee Against Torture considers such conditions to be cruel, inhuman and degrading, and when the isolation is indefinite -- as at Tamms -- to be form of torture. Last year, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture Juan E. Méndez called for a global ban on solitary confinement in excess of 15 days.