The installation of One Sentence A Day, Twilight is part of an exhibition curated by Aaron Hughes and Alice Kim, based on a Think Tank Alice ran in Stateville prison for many years, before the prison’s closure. The installation uses a common chart to describe types of twilight as a backdrop. Twilight is an important time of day for Jerel Matthews. For Jerel, the sun rising each morning is a meaningful symbol of his incarceration, representing both a new day alive as well as another day being locked away. The installation, created with the support of Fernanda Ponce and writers at Stateville, includes hundreds of prints made by printing watercolor washes and text on black and blue paper. The subtle color shifts require viewers to shift their positions and get closer to see the words and everyday experiences of people behind bars. The installation also includes a video of a twilighted landscape on a loop, where by the sky lights up just for moments before going dark again.
Featured in this installation is a selection of one sentence a day contributions from 2020 to the present curated by Reginald BoClair, Fernanda Ponce, Benny Rios DonJuan, Lonnie Smith, and Johnny Taylor. Selections include writings from Reginald BoClair, Raul Dorado, Darrell W. Fair, Antonio “TK” Kendrick, Rodney Love, Breanna Maldonado, Ryan Miller, Daniel Perkins, Benny Rios DonJuan, Michael Simmons, Lonnie Smith, James “Jimmy” Soto, Devon Terrell, & Connie Vantlin.
