This painting, based on a film photograph, depicts a previously incarcerated artist as a baby—captured long before the world began to define him by his circumstances. Painted with care and intentional softness, the portrait invites viewers into a space of quiet reflection and shared humanity.
As the first work in progress in the exhibition, it sets the tone: one of mutual understanding, empathy, and a challenge to the stereotypes that surround incarceration. By presenting the artist at such a tender age, the work reminds us that every person—regardless of their past—once existed in this same state of innocence and possibility.
We all carry a connection to our younger selves. In seeing him as a child, viewers are encouraged to reflect inward, to consider the shaping of identity over time, and to recognize the full, complex person behind the label of “formerly incarcerated.”
This is more than a portrait—it is an invitation to see, to feel, and to remember.
