Riccardo Kirven

When I received Barbara and Frances’ stories of living with long covid I had to read both stories a couple times before I visualized in my mind the artwork that I wanted to create. It's a process, my mind will create a scene and then I will hurry up and make a sketch of what my imagination brought forth. Barbara and France's stories touched my heart because out of all the stuff they've been through they've never given up, and that's the same mentality you got to keep in prison if you want to survive and succeed in getting out of prison. 

I connected with this experience because when the covid pandemic hit it was terrible for us incarcerated. I believe seven inmates died at the facility I reside at. The prison staff kept moving inmates around and telling us it was for our protection. But us inmates knew the prison staff were doing the movements to make sure everyone caught the covid virus so they could try to create a herd immunity. They were playing with our lives like our lives meant nothing, like we didn't have family and friends who love us and care about our well-being. These stories also touched me because I have caught covid several times while incarcerated. I usually catch the virus at least once or twice a year. The virus has become normal to us in prison. And I have had family friends and people that I grew up with pass away from covid during the covid pandemic. I think almost everybody had somebody they loved pass from covid. The covid virus impacted all of our lives. 

I hope visitors see that even though I'm incarcerated, I'm still a human being who cares for others. The media portrays people who've committed a crime as unredeemable, the lowest of society, and the media has been doing this for decades. The prison system is no longer about rehabilitation in America and I don't think it ever was. But the media won't tell you how every year inmates get together and donate money for children to have school supplies for school. Or how every year inmates crochet scarfs, beanies, and gloves for the poor around winter time. Or that inmates donate money for Christmas presents for under privileged children so these children can have a decent Christmas. The media won't show these thing that inmates do because they want to keep the "Tough on Crime" propaganda going. I want people to know that there are good people in prison who have taken the necessary steps to better themselves because when, or, if they get a chance to get out of prison, they will never come back. And in closing, I want to say that I will keep praying for Barbara and Frances and I hope one day there will be a cure for long covid.