Restoring Hope by Charles Anthony Ball
Medium: Graphite and Orange Pencils on Strathmore Paper
Size: 8.5″ X 11″
Artist statement I’m Charles Anthony Ball, a prisoner serving life without parole in the North Carolina prison system. This drawing illustrates a prisoner risking his own life to free a butterfly from a spider web, and draws attention to the compassionate hearts of those society has deemed irredeemable, those serving life without parole. Death Row inmates get a lot of assistance, and rightly so, but those serving the living death sentence of life without parole are mostly forgotten. The death penalty has been abolished in several states, but LWOP persists. Thus the question, “is anyone ever beyond redemption?”
Image description (Alt Text): The graphite and pencil drawing features a strikingly beautiful image using mostly black and white colors except for a single, orange butterfly in the scene. The image depicts a scene outside of a prison. A single arm, which belongs to a trapped prisoner, can be seen reaching towards freedom through a hole in the fence. On his hand, on the side of freedom, a single, orange butterfly is perched. The butterfly seems to be trapped on a web as the prisoner gently helps him escape. The prisoner’s other hand can be seen clutching the other side of the fence for support. In the background lies a black and white watchtower with a single light shining down. The light is cast directly on the butterfly and the prisoner’s hand. On the left hand of the photo, there are black and white shadows belonging to trees being cast down. On the right hand side of the photo there is a barbed wire fence. In the middle lies the butterfly, the only image depicted in color- a deep orange.