PROJECT BACKGROUND


Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania creates a story of contrast. Opened in 1829, it was known for the ground-breaking radial design and impressive castle-like architecture usually reserved for Gothic fortresses throughout European history. The modern amenities and at times, ornate features, were in sharp opposition to the intended almost monastic style of confinement to help prisoners focus on personal reform instead of merely punishment.  

Alexis de Tocqueville visited Eastern State Penitentiary in 1831 with Gustave de Beaumont. They wrote in their report to the French government:
"Thrown into solitude... [the prisoner] reflects. Placed alone, in view of his crime, he learns to hate it; and if his soul be not yet surfeited with crime, and thus have lost all taste for any thing better, it is in solitude, where remorse will come to assail him.... Can there be a combination more powerful for reformation than that of a prison which hands over the prisoner to all the trials of solitude, leads him through reflection to remorse, through religion to hope; makes him industrious by the burden of idleness..?"

When photographer, Tiffani Nieusma of Ligonier, first happened upon Eastern State Penitentiary in the fall of 2016 while exploring Philadelphia, she was struck by the unexpected beauty contained in the crumbling historic structure. The dancing light and shadows that help mask untold stories left a lasting impression on her soul. She endeavored to capture the feelings of that original impression of the formidable structure and tales of our past it holds.

In 2020, Mandy Sirofchuck of Main Exhibit Gallery & Art Center saw a partial album of Tiffani’s Eastern State photos and a plan was hatched!
A show and a book of the same name will be coming September 1, 2021.
The show will be a celebration of the visual and written collaboration!
For additional information about the Penitentiary, please click on the button below: