Rossella Biscotti : the prison of Santo Stefano

In The Prison of Santo Stefano (2011-2013), her work exhibited in the 13th Istanbul Biennial, Biscotti reflects on the general condition experienced by detainees and the psychological effects of isolation, which destroy physical and intellectual abilities and annul the convicts’ identities.
The Santo Stefano Prison is located on a small island on the Mediterranean Sea. It was the first prison built for life imprisonment in Italy and the first one to use a panoptic structure, taking as reference the San Carlo Opera Theater in Naples. Contemporary to Jeremy Bentham’s designs of the Panopticon, this structure renders all cells visible from a central point, thus creating a permanent feeling of surveillance. Santo Stefano opened its doors as a modern prison in 1793 and was operational until 1965. Many political figures in Italy—mostly anarchists and communist leaders— were imprisoned at this location.