Fri 5 Sep – Sun 7 Dec
This exhibition brings together a series of new artworks created in parallel by people in custody across the North of England at four prisons: HMP Styal, New Hall, Low Newton and Askham Grange in Spring 2025.
These artworks inspired by tarot, conjure and embellish the narratives and aesthetic of the traditional arcana to share individual and collective stories of empowerment, healing, and self-discovery.
Working with symbolic visual language, participants evoked their own processes of creation and collaboration. Within the series, there are both interpretations of existing cards and entirely new characters that draw on personal experiences and reflections on life. These works present the outcomes of a collective investigative process exploring the relevance of archetypes in a real-life context and celebrate the many roles we may adorn and inhabit throughout a lifetime - caregiver, friend, fighter, dreamer, survivor and reflect stories of strength, transformation, and inner wisdom.
Participants from HMP New Hall said “These works represent the opportunity to face what we’ve lived, deal with what we’ve lived and then let go to enable us to look ahead. When you can realise your own resilience, then the world’s yours, to gain the ability to choose a lighter future. “
Though based in four different prisons, participants shared a common starting point for their creative process: each person selected a card they felt drawn to and connected its imagery back to their own identity, journey, or hopes for the future. Further information about each group’s work and approach to the project is available in the printed information and online at homemcr.org.
This project was delivered by Novus in collaboration with HOME. Novus delivers education, training, employment and support services for adults and young people in custody through to the community in England and Wales.
More about the exhibition:
HMP Low Newton
A focus on identity and resilience. The Fighter blends zodiac symbols and personal strength. A lion (Leo) and flowers (Taurus) reflect the artist’s journey through Taekwondo and mental health struggles. The Fortune Teller honours Native American spirituality and intuition, celebrating the timeless power of spiritual guidance.
HMP Askham Grange
Artworks rooted in hope, healing, and collective strength.
The Star expresses hope for a brighter future, grounded in love, faith, and the beauty of the Lake District. Stand Together in Sisterhood celebrates unity, compassion, and women’s strength across generations. Resilience and Bravery is a deeply personal journey through trauma, loss, and survival, imagining the artist’s transformation into a powerful, nature-connected figure.
HMP New Hall
A collective exploration of identity, survival, and release. Symbolic masks reflect the complexity of women's experiences in prison.
The artworks confront the past and express the power of letting go, embracing resilience and the ability to choose a brighter future.
HMP Styal
An intuitive journey of self-reflection. Participants selected cards they felt visually or emotionally drawn to, using Tarot imagery as a mirror to explore personal thoughts, feelings and transformation.
