The Holmesburg ​Prison Ghosts

This series was completed as part of a college class assignment (Spring 2024). The instructions were to find physical images and transform them in some way. After flipping through and reading the brief introduction, I selected images from Thomas Roma's book In Prison Air: The Cells of Holmesburg Prison. The prison itself is currently still abandoned, only ever housing Philadelphia's worst criminals. Despite its emptiness, each photographed cell still seemed occupied to me. There was still a presence, or even ghostly traces in each scene. Using an exacto knife, black paper, glue, and a white gelly roll pen, I decided to reveal these traces I felt. 

Credits: Original photos of the Holmesburg Prison by Thomas Roma.