Abstract
During a visit to a prison in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State of Ethiopia, I was struck by the existence within the institution of a cohort of talented painters. From early morning until late afternoon they mixed paints, stretched canvas onto frames and sought inspiration from the work of others and their own imaginations. Their art was characterised by spontaneity, colour, emotion and the human drama. There were opportunity costs associated with these endeavours, as every day spent painting was a day when money could not be earned working as a weaver, fishing net maker or service provider of one kind or another. While the painters benefitted from the occasional commission, their activity was inspired by more than the potential profit associated with sporadic sales.
Paddy Moran, a missionary priest at whose invitation I visited the prison, had initiated the art programme with the support of the Irish Embassy in Addis Ababa. He reflected that: ‘Every brushstroke is a blow for freedom, the freedom to express yourself, who you are and that part of your heart and soul that cannot be caged by walls or bars’. One of the most accomplished artists was Chalew Gebino, the prisoners’ elected spokesperson and leader, two of whose compositions are reproduced, with permission. The first depicts what he described as the chaos of a world that has turned away from religion. The second shows the harmony and continuity of life. In combination they illustrate the ability of prisoners, even in the most challenging circumstances, to strive towards what Viktor Frankl described in Man’s Search for Meaning as ‘the art of living’. In other words, while modifying their external environment may have been beyond their control, the attitude they displayed towards it was not.
Chaos
Harmony
That a community of artists can flourish in an Ethiopian prison signals the human capacity to resist – however imperfectly – the levelling effects of incarceration.