Vulpes Bastille
March 6 – March 28, 2026
Kansas City, MO
not titled structure (the cell)
2026
oriented strand board (OSB), 2x4s, and repurposed tin from a
no-parking sign (as a pinhole), velvet curtains, and an archival inkjet reproduction of the original exposure taken outside of a prison facility with collaborators
6.5ft x 9.5ft x 8.5ft
[text from the takeaway]
(3)
An actualized 1:1 reference of a modern solitary confinement cell (6x9 feet inside), this structure was also devised as a pinhole camera. Similarly made of OSB and 2x4s, a fragment from a household “no parking” sign was punctured to create the camera obscura effect, one of the oldest technologies to produce images.
(4)
At another visit to a carceral facility, we organized a small group picture outside the prison to commemorate an important visit with queer and trans people inside. Leaned up against a hubcap of a car in the parking lot just outside (between watchtowers and security checkpoints inside and outside the campus), we stood still for nearly 5 minutes, though the inconsistency of light and the imminent feeling that we were somehow breaking a law by loitering caused us to stop the exposure much earlier than was necessary. What was left was a blurry referent of the slow act of enduring stillness, of being stuck in place while everything else moves around you. We all remarked on how present the birds were that flew in and out of the prison yard. Their songs were the salve for standing in place for so long.
return to project site
2026
oriented strand board (OSB), 2x4s, and repurposed tin from a
no-parking sign (as a pinhole), velvet curtains, and an archival inkjet reproduction of the original exposure taken outside of a prison facility with collaborators
6.5ft x 9.5ft x 8.5ft
[text from the takeaway]
(3)
An actualized 1:1 reference of a modern solitary confinement cell (6x9 feet inside), this structure was also devised as a pinhole camera. Similarly made of OSB and 2x4s, a fragment from a household “no parking” sign was punctured to create the camera obscura effect, one of the oldest technologies to produce images.
(4)
At another visit to a carceral facility, we organized a small group picture outside the prison to commemorate an important visit with queer and trans people inside. Leaned up against a hubcap of a car in the parking lot just outside (between watchtowers and security checkpoints inside and outside the campus), we stood still for nearly 5 minutes, though the inconsistency of light and the imminent feeling that we were somehow breaking a law by loitering caused us to stop the exposure much earlier than was necessary. What was left was a blurry referent of the slow act of enduring stillness, of being stuck in place while everything else moves around you. We all remarked on how present the birds were that flew in and out of the prison yard. Their songs were the salve for standing in place for so long.
return to project site