To reach my final concept I had researched into opinions and views on death in different cultures. After looking into Memento Mori I decided that artwork was something I wanted to focus on. Portraying death through art, it is here that I found the artwork from inmates on Death Row and their powerful poetry. I knew that it was the feeling of seeing beautiful artwork, but guilt for knowing what the author did, that I wanted to explore. 

 

The concept of this project is to explore the stages of emotion that death row inmates feel before execution. Being such a taboo subject I wanted the book to take the reader on a journey before revealing that the poetry and artwork had been created by prisoners. Seeing this work and then learning the truth has a certain impact that makes you see the inmate in another light. Leaving the reader to form their own judgments on death row. 

 

The book is split into four sections, each embodies the chosen emotion with poetry and artwork from past and current inmates. Relying primarily on typography and layout to reflect each stage, the four chapters have typefaces selected to mirror the feelings given in the poetry. Each emotion is assigned a colour that is most related to that feeling, the reasoning behind this was a decision to avoid an overuse of black. This is important as to not give the book an overly morbid impression, guiding the reader away from any relation with death until the end.  

 

After experiencing chapters of fear, followed by dreaming, regret and acceptance you are met with the last chapter containing their names and dates of execution. I hope that this makes the reader question the morality of death row, especially in cases where there is a plead for not guilty.