Prison Hacks - Willem Boshoff

Prison Hacks is a series of etchings on granite over eight slabs to record the number of days the prisoners of the Rivonia trial of June 1964 spent in prison. Each granite slab is 1300cm x 1200cm and is filled with groups of six vertical lines with a diagonal line through to mark the passing of a week. These signs are usually done by prisoners in a private place to mark down their time spent in prison. The slabs are dedicated to: Nelson Mandela; Ahmed Kathrada; Walter Sisulu; Raymond Mhlaba; Elias Motsoaledi; Andrew Mlangeni; Gove Mbeki and Dennis Goldberg.

Willem Boshoff says he was fond of the title Prison Hacks; as a hack describes the term for a person hired to do dull routine work, but it also refers to a score drawn through something. Boshoff initially called the series Prison Hacks when he only had funds to make three panels. Once he received funding to make all 8 panels he altered the title of the work to Prison Sentences. The word ‘sentence’ refers to the time a prisoner serves, but it also refers to a written grammatical construction. Starting with a capital letter and ending with a period, an ending. Boshoff says naming the work Prison Sentences alluded to the second meaning, idea that the sentence would end.

The work is etched on black granite because it is the material used to build memorials. A memorial to visually show everyone exactly how long the Rivonia trial members spent in jail. But also, perhaps even more significant, is that it is the material used for grace stones. After all these men were sentenced for life. Granite is also a cold and hard material. Two elements these men were obviously confronted with daily as prisoners.

The granite is polished to a smooth and shiny finish and has a reflective surface. Done so in order for the viewer to see himself in the work. A time for inner reflection and reflection on what these men had to have gone through. A time to see yourself in the work is a time to place yourself in those situations. The reflection in the work reminds one of Michael Jackson’s lyrics where he says: “I’m starting with the man in the mirror...” Is it the person in the reflection staring back at you the reason these men were imprisoned? Is it the reflection that you should start with to change things. Wasn’t that exactly what these men did? Started with themselves to change things.

Seeing all these groups of lines indicating weeks, building up to months, years, it becomes striking just how long these men served their sentences. The groups of lines almost seem never ending. Prisoners speak of a neves, an extended period of prison sentence. The word neves spelled backwards spells seven. Seven year of prison is considered by inmates as a very long time. Prisoners say a time that feels never ending.