Morristown church showing art made in solitary confinement

MORRISTOWN - The Church of the Redeemer is hosting an exhibit made by an artist to stay sane during a more than two-decade stint in solitary confinement in state prison.

Ojore Nuru Lutalo created his artwork while spending 22 years in the Management Control Unit of Trenton State Prison, using only the tools at his disposal: old newspapers, glue, and used paper.

Lutalo served 28 years in prison for armed robbery and weapons offenses involving a shootout with a police officer in 1975 and another shootout with a drug dealer in 1981. Lutalo spent most of his time in prison in solitary confinement because he was a deemed a security threat, according to a story by The Associated Press.

utalo ripped text and images from news clippings to construct original collages that he said describe his 28 years at Trenton State Prison.

"Ojore began creating collages both as a way to maintain his sanity and to more adequately convey to his friends the physical and emotional reality he experienced within solitary confinement,” said  Bonnie Kerness, director of the American Friends Service Committee's Prison Watch Program, who produced the large format installations. “He created a wide range of art pieces offering both his unique perspective on the conditions he faced and commentary on injustices more broadly."

Many of those themes were discussed at the Church of the Redeemer Wednesday in a community conversation about mass incarceration centered on Michelle Alexander's book, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness.”

A reception is scheduled Friday night for the exhibit, “Art Behind Bars: Collages from Solitary Confinement.” The exhibit is open Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., and each Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon through March 20. The exhibit will be in place through Good Friday, March 25, and is open at other times by contacting the church at 973-539-0703

“The collages are a powerful commentary about race and mass incarceration, and are especially moving during Lent, a season when we acknowledge our separation from God and each other,” said Dave Jones, the Assistant for Youth and Family Ministries at Redeemer. “Having this visual reminder of the reality of the exponentially growing prison population in our country vividly demonstrates the immediate need for a change in what has become accepted as ‘normal’ in our country.”

The Church of the Redeemer is located at 36 South Street in Morristown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com