Prisoner-Produced Products Present Slavery in Its Modern Form

#CameronRowland #91020000 at @artistsspace is such an important exhibition about prison labor and the legacy of slavery in the United States. These container lashing bars are titled "Insurance." See it before the show closes March 13.

A photo posted by JiaJia Fei ✌ (@vajiajia) on Mar 5, 2016 at 5:47pm PST

Last year, The New York Times wrote that there were “1.5 million missing black men from American society." The headline was meant to call attention to the fact that a disproportionate amount of young black men are in prison. The Washington Post reported that, to keep those men in prison, in poor American neighborhoods mass incarceration has inadvertently created "million dollar blocks"—places where Americans pay more than a million dollars in taxes to incarcerate the people who once lived in those neighborhoods. But what artist Cameron Rowland points out with his latest body of found object sculptures recently shown at Artists Space, entitled 91020000, is that the prisoners’ marks on society are ever present in our daily lives.

#CameronRowland "Attica Series Desk" (2016) @artistsspace until March 13 — a must-see, rethinking labor, slavery, history in material form

A photo posted by @p_exclamation on Mar 9, 2016 at 9:20am PST

In the show, Rowland presents Attica Series Desk, a desk that was manufactured at the Attica Correctional Facility in 1971 that furnishes New York state government buildings; levelers that are used in the streets of New York state as rings for manholes; and benches used throughout courtrooms in New York state. The desks, benches, and levelers are objects made by New York State prisoners who are, according to Rowland, paid between $0.10 to $1.14 an hour in accordance with the state's minimum wage law to prison industries. The work 1st Defense NFPA 1977, 2011, that is featured in the show, comprises Nomex fire suits made by prisoners in the California penal system for the state’s 4,300 inmate wildland firefighters.

Last days to see #cameronrowland @artistsspace. Pictured here: courtroom benches built by prisoners in Green Haven Correctional Facility. In Rowland's words, "the court reproduces itself materially through the labor of those it sentences."

A photo posted by Emily Liebert (@emilyliebert1) on Mar 10, 2016 at 3:45pm PST

For Rowland, the labor of the prisoners is a continuation of American slavery. The body of work also includes documents like Insurance—certificates from Lloyd’s of London who offered slavery cargo insurance during the early 18th century—and Disgorgement, a “Reparations Purpose Trust,” bought by Rowland from Aetna Insurance Company. Aetna is one of the many insurance companies who offered slavery insurance policies to slave masters. In addition, the document that allowed Rowland and Artists Space to register as a non-profit with Crocraft—the market name of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Division of Industries—to buy products made by American prisoners. Crocraft also sells prisoner-made products to police departments, schools, and universities.

91020000 Cameron Rowland, Nomex fire suits by CALPIS @artistsspace only open until March 13th #91020000 #cameronrowland

A photo posted by Katy Diamond Hamer (@katyhamer) on Mar 12, 2016 at 1:25pm PST

The documents and sculptural works are a haunting reminder that slavery is still part of America's fabric. The evidence is found in a prison industrial complex that turns entire American neighborhoods into cheap prison labor forces that manufacture goods used in the everyday lives of many Americans. The show also affirms that the accumulation of wealth in many of America’s private business sectors are directly traceable back to slavery. The most powerful statement Rowland makes with 91020000 is in plainly exposing the ways in which the legacy of slavery endures.

Leveler (Extension) Rings for Manhole Openings from #CameronRowland's incredibly important show "91020000" 

A photo posted by ZEZE Hotel (@zezehotel) on Mar 13, 2016 at 3:07pm PDT

91020000 was on display at Artists Space from January 17 - March 13, 2016. For more information on the artist, click here.

Related:

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Photographing Trips to Visit Family Members in Prison

An Artist Caged Himself in New York to Fight for Prison Reform