[State Penitentiary, Richmond, Virginia] 1865

This is Alexander Gardner's photograph of the State Penitentiary in Richmond, Virginia. The prison looms, crowned by a formidable wall; a symbol, throughout history, of exclusion and control. Consider the walls of ancient Jericho, or the moats around medieval castles – all echoes of the same primal need to define space, to protect, and to confine. The act of enclosing, separating "us" from "them", is deeply rooted in our collective psyche. Think, too, of the Panopticon, that architectural embodiment of surveillance, where power is maintained through the constant possibility of being watched. This is about more than physical restraint; it's about the psychological impact, the internalization of authority. The emotional weight of this image rests not just in the stones and mortar, but in the human stories held within those walls, the weight of societal judgment, the fear of confinement—an enduring narrative etched into the landscape of our minds.