Sisc Johnson, caller:
Raised in and out of the foster care system in East Tennessee, Sisc (Sissy) Johnson uses photography to reflect on her own past as well as on the hardships of others. Her work documents social inequalities of individuals who are overlooked, silenced, or stigmatized.
In past work, Johnson has photographed undocumented people in her community, family members suffering from substance abuse, and people within rural farm communities in an effort to seek meaningful dialogue surrounding social inequality.
Ian Cappelli, responder:
This is a prose poem that connects the structures of a hornet's nest to one of federal prison. I am interested in subverting romantic language in this text--talking about sugar's sweetness in the context of Splenda, etc.
My partner came to me with some interesting prison imagery, and that's where I started to piece this poem together.