doc #409584
dob. 6. 30. 79
pob. New Orleans
sentence. 6 years
2 children
future plans.
be success , lawyer

In a 2021 interview with "Taking Pictures" Deborah explains the circumstances by which she captured this photograph of Eddie M. ‘Fat’ Coco. She said, "One afternoon, just as I was arriving at the East Carroll Parish Prison Farm, it began to rain. The warden ordered Eddie M. ‘Fat’ Coco (who was serving a six-year sentence) to take down the flag, and then to help me carry my equipment to the studio location. When we began photographing, he decided to pose wrapped in Old Glory. Eddie would tell the other inmates not to clown around during the photo sessions and to pose with dignity, because 'this work is important'."

You can read the full interview here: https://talking-pictures.net.au/2021/09/04/deborah-luster-evidence-of-life/

Series Description:
Deborah Luster presents a selection of photographs from her acclaimed series One Big Self, chronicling the often forgotten prisoners of Northeast Louisiana between 1998-2002. Small enough to be held in one’s palm, the original black aluminum tintype prints created a sense of intimacy, yet their scale also allowed them to be stacked and filed away by number, reminiscent of the discarding of identity within the prison system. Many prisoners used the prints of their portraits as evidence of life, a reminder and an invitation to the outside world to acknowledge them and to recognize them as they would like to be seen. Blurring the boundaries of death and time, the photographs capture a frozen moment of individuality for people that have been tucked away within an unforgiving and exploitative system.