“Ever get the feeling you’re being watched?” my workmate Elise uttered the other week as we hung the final piece of art at the Long Gallery in Hobart for the annual ‘Artists with Conviction’ exhibition. Now in its 14th year, ‘Artists with Conviction’ is an exhibition of art and writing by people at the Risdon facilities as well as people on parole in Tasmania. This year, we had a phenomenal amount of work with nearly 300 creative pieces in the gallery accompanied by a book of poetry and prose. Elise was right, the theme ‘Behind These Eyes’, chosen by a Risdon resident meant that there were a lot of pupils peeping back at us.

‍

Among these were delicately drawn Floral Iris (Gabrielle P), a beautiful glittery painting of a Club Girl who had “seen it all” (Natalie M), a single large psychedelic eyeball on an oval canvas called What Do You See (Anthony D), eyes-as-eggs in Carton of Eyes (Aaron S) alongside countless sketches, paintings and text exploring the concept of personal perspective.

‍

Not all artists approached the theme literally, but each piece seemed to offer a unique insight into the creator’s mind. Woodworker Mark J made a large scale ‘Forever Desk' about which one of our judge’s remarked “the skill, dedication, beauty, and functionality on display are inarguable. It was very moving to consider the incredible optimism represented by your work – a vision of this desk’s presence in your own and your family’s future far down the bloodline. It is a deeply beautiful thing in both its form and in its symbolism.”

‍

Visitors to the gallery shared that they were impressed with the level of skill on show including many pieces constructed from match sticks including the 46,800 used to make Prison Titanic (Mark A) and cleverly constructed Hand-Made Chess Set (William C).

‍

Elise and I loved the humour in many of the works including ‘Picasso with Teeth’ that gave the famous artist dentures. It was amazing, and at times quite emotional, to meet friends and family who came to see loved one’s creative expression. In total, we had almost 1000 people walk through the gallery doors over a 10-day period.  We are grateful for the assistance of Shaun and Aaron who worked with us installing the show over two days. As well as doing the “heavy lifting,” both helped curate the look and feel of the show, deciding which works would go together to make each work look its absolute best. Thanks fellas!

‍

Congratulations to all artists and writers who took part in Artists with Conviction 2024. We know it takes guts to share your images, objects, and words.

‍

We will be celebrating all artists including prize-winners across facilities at Risdon over the coming weeks.  

‍

We hope you enjoy looking at some of the artwork from Artists with Conviction.

‍

As artist Joel G wrote about his work Drippin’ Mess: "life is messy but sometimes you can make something good out of the mess...and my life is a mess, but I am going to turn it into something good with the help of art.”

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍