Jenn Ackerman's Series 'Trapped'

i have recently just found a very interesting series to me, an inspiration towards my work. Jenn Ackerman's series is all about how she photographed the inmates of a reformatory in the usa, all inmates with mental illness.


“To accurately portray the reality of living with mental illness for prisoners in an effort to call attention to the increased imprisonment of the mentally ill in the US” is the stated goal of Jenn Ackerman’s series Trapped.

Ackerman began photographing inside Kentucky State Reformatory in 2008. Over the course of her time there she gained trust of the inmates and guards and unprecedented access to their facility and procedure. The resulting series is a stunning look inside the experience of the mentally ill shuffled through a prison system not equipped to withstand, care for, or rehabilitate them. A system in dire need of attention and reform.* 

*Source beautifuldecay.com