Nigel Poor
Exploded Pen San Quentin Parking Lot, 2019/2021

Digital print, 14 x 11 inches
Edition 1/6, signed, verso
Unframed
Courtesy of the artist
Estimated value: $1,500

I have a personal habit of collecting things people leave behind, and the parking lot at San Quentin State Prison has become my hunting ground, a place full of intriguing left-behind bits and pieces.

When I found the first underwire, I thought it was a curious anomaly. With the second one I thought, OK, that’s weird, people must be getting it on in a wild way in the parking lot. But by the third one I realized there was something I wasn’t getting. It took me a while to figure this one out. The underwires are pulled out of the bras of women who come to the prison to visit their family and friends inside. Visitors cannot have metal on them, so if they get to the parking lot and realize they have worn the wrong kind of bra, they have to pull the wire out before going in. Every time I pick one up, I think about the person out in the parking lot struggling to cut into her bra to fish out a wire.

A crushed tube of bright red lipstick, a flattened spool of string, underwire from a bra, Saran wrap braided into a chain, a folded piece of paper covered with Xs and Os, an exploded ballpoint pen, a tiny notebook wadded up and soaked by water, a torn page from a child’s coloring book. You can find a worthy story anywhere—it just requires being interested in what is around you and being attentive.

About the Artist:
Nigel Poor

Nigel Poor is a visual artist whose work explores the various ways people make a mark and leave behind evidence of their existence. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and can be found in various museum collections, including SFMOMA and De Young Museum, San Francisco; and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC. She is also a professor of photography at California State University, Sacramento. In 2011, Nigel got involved with San Quentin State Prison as a volunteer teacher for the Prison University Project. She is the co-creator and co-host of the prison-based podcast "Ear Hustle."

Website: nigelpoor.com
Instagram: @nigelpoor