L’altra società

Today’s prisons are focused on the role of the transformation of individuals; at the same time they are the main reason for social exclusion. Presently the Italian detention system often exceeds the tolerance of human rights, representing a huge political and social problem. This thesis project focuses on the everyday life of Italian prisoners, highlighting the prison as a complex social community with a strict social system of cultural and moral values.

The focus is the visualisation of the social structures through graphs and diagrams, using an ethnological research approach based on interviews structured as guided conversations. This work narrates the Italian conditions of detention focusing on the personal stories instead of the statistical data. In this regard, the audio registration of the interviews with the prisoners and the staff members were used. An illustrated and animated book accompanies the audio. The second phase of the work includes a workshop with some prisoners now living under house arrest. The result is a series of postcards with their opinion, thoughts and experiences.

Degree project by Melani De Luca for the diploma session in the BA Design.
students: Melani De Luca
supervisors: Kris Krois, Matteo Moretti

• politics
• society