Alberto Lule
“I chose this as a way to express three things that many prisoners have in common: waiting, hoping, and being together. These things which the incarcerated experience while being detained are also shared with their loved ones who are also waiting and hoping with them and for them. The ¨X¨ in Juntxs is gender neutral so that it may stand in solidarity for all gender and non-binary individuals. The word Espera translates to ¨waiting¨ and is also part of the word Esperanza which means ¨hope.¨ And so the word Esperamos can be read as ¨waiting¨ and also ¨hoping.¨ What a lot of prisoners and detainees find themselves doing is waiting and hoping everything will work out and freedom will come, and they do this waiting and hoping together, with themselves as well as with those on the other side of the walls who are also waiting and hoping for a safe return home.”
BIO
Alberto Lule - I am a 41 year-old undergraduate art major at UCLA. I realized I was an artist while serving a thirteen year sentence in a California prison. About 4 years into my sentence I began to look for ways that would take me out of the prison space on a mental level. It was art that made the prison walls disappear, even if only for the hours I would work. This habit of simple pencil drawing led to art books, and then a passion for art in general. This passion led to other forms of knowledge such as philosophy, and eventually college correspondence courses. I realized I could overcome not only the prison I was physically in, but also the mental prison I had placed myself in even before prison.
OWN WORDS
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