Out of the Shadows
Kenny, Out of the Shadows, 2017 © Polly Braden
“A literature review undertaken by the Prison Reform Trust, and reported in No One Knows, shows that 20-30% of prisoners have learning disabilities or difficulties that interfere with the ability to cope within the criminal justice system.”
- No One Knows, p.1, 2008
Out of the Shadows is a new photo-book we made in collaboration with photographer, Polly Braden, and journalist, Sally Williams and published in association with Dewi Lewis. We’ve sold all of our copies but you can still buy it from Dewi’s website here.
The prevalence of people with learning disabilities and with autism who are in the criminal justice system is often measured in figures: they are seven times more likely to come into contact with the police than the general population; they account for just under a third of young people in custody; and when it comes to incarceration, around 10% of adults locked up in our prisons have a learning disability.
Out of the Shadows offers a very different view on the human cost of locking up people with learning disabilities and/or autism. The book contains 80 intimate and powerful photographs by Polly Braden, seven in-depth stories written by journalist Sally Williams and three first-hand accounts, providing a valuable insight into how they ended up in prison and what happened to them.
“In 2014, I began work on a two-year project with the charity MacIntyre, The aim was to look at how, with the right support, people with learning disabilities and/or autism could live fulfilling lives. Throughout this time I saw hope and possibility for people who were being supported by knowledgeable and specialised care workers. It left me wondering what happens to those people who haven’t found this kind of support; the ones who slip through the net or whose disability isn’t seen as being quite ‘bad enough’ to need support. How do they cope with the daunting prospect of moving from childhood to adulthood in a world where you need to be able to manage your time, resources and relationships or face the consequences?”
- Polly Braden
Artist Biography: Polly Braden
Polly Braden is a documentary photographer whose work features an ongoing conversation between the people she photographs and the environment in which they find themselves.
Highlighting the small, often unconscious gestures of her subjects, Polly particularly enjoys long-term, in depth collaborations that in turn lends her photographs a unique, quiet intimacy. Polly has produced a large body of work that includes not only solo exhibitions and magazine features, but most recently four books: Adventures in the Lea Valley (Hoxton Mini Press, 2016), Great Interactions: Life with Learning Disabilities and Autism (Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2016), Out of the Shadows: The Untold Story of People with Autism or Learning Disabilities (Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2018) alongside writer Sally Williams, and London’s Square Mile: A Secret City (Hoxton Mini Press, 2019.) with writing by David Kynaston.
Artist Biography: Sally Williams
Sally Williams is a feature writer who writes on a variety of subjects.
Lindsey, Out of the Shadows, 2017 © Polly Braden
Dharminder, Out of the Shadows, 2017 © Polly Braden
Lindsey, Out of the Shadows, 2017 © Polly Braden
Rodney, Out of the Shadows, 2017 © Polly Braden
Roy, Out of the Shadows, 2017 © Polly Braden