Sherrill Roland

Sherrill Roland (based in Raleigh, NC) is an interdisciplinary artist and the founder of the acclaimed Jumpsuit Project, which raises awareness around issues related to mass incarceration. The work grew out of personal history, reflecting the ten months Roland spent in state prison on a wrongful conviction just as he had started his last year of grad school in 2013. Based on new evidence, Roland was exonerated of all charges in 2015. Back in school, he wanted to provoke conversation around issues related to incarceration, including prejudice toward those incarcerated.

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Jumpsuit Project

The artist in an orange jumpsuit talks to veiwers inside a orange duct tape perimeter taped on the ground.
Jumpsuit Project, 2016-ongoing
Jumpsuit on wooden hanger, four framed photographs, and orange duct tape
Courtesy of the artist

Sherrill Roland began his ongoing Jumpsuit Project in 2016, drawing on his experience of being wrongfully convicted. In public walks, speaking engagements, and gallery spaces, Roland wears an orange jumpsuit similar to the one he wore while incarcerated. The performance provokes conversations about incarceration and acknowledges the prejudices that exist toward those currently or formerly incarcerated. Jumpsuit Project intends to contradict the media’s depiction of imprisonment and instead, provide a window into the lives of those affected by incarceration.

Contraband

Red dental floss wrapped around a paperclip insdie a large black frame
Contraband Item #3, 2019
Cinnamon dental floss and paperclip
Courtesy of the artist

Roland’s Contraband series shows prohibited items that Roland held dear when he was in prison, including dental floss, a razor, and an ink cartridge. That these basic items of self-care and communication were forbidden and had to be procured illicitly, speaks to the deep inhumanity of the carceral system.

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Biography

Portrait of Sherrill Roland

Sherrill Roland received both his B.F.A. in Design and M.F.A. in studio art from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. His work has been presented at Open Engagement Chicago; Oakland City Hall, and the Michigan School of Law. Recent exhibitions include Contemporary Art Museum, Houston; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), and The Studio Museum, Harlem. He was recently an Artist-in-Residence at the McColl Center of Art + Innovation in Charlotte, NC, and a Rights of Return USA Fellow.