Assignment No. 2

《Assignment No. 2》 是一本受 Michael Nelson 文字啟發的視覺紀錄。Nelson 是一名囚犯，目前在 聖昆汀監獄（San Quentin Prison） 服 25 年至終身監禁 的刑期。這篇文章寫於 2011 年，當時他身處 單獨監禁，回應一項請求——對兩張照片進行評析。在他的筆下，影像的聲音透過 杉本博司（Hiroshi Sugimoto） 和 Richard Misrach 的作品找到出口，構築出一場對美國監獄生活及其心理狀態的深刻反思。

這個專案源於 Prison University Project，一個為聖昆汀監獄囚犯提供副學士學位（AA Degree）機會的非營利組織。本書標題來自《攝影中的視覺關注》（Visual Concerns in Photography）課程的第二篇寫作作業，該課程由藝術家與教授 Doug Dertinger 和 Nigel Poor 主講。

《Assignment No. 2》 精確複製了 Nelson 最初在法律筆記本上起草的文章，每本手工壓印標題與日期，賦予其獨特性。書冊的動態書寫與影像結合，並透過精緻的雕塑式裝幀，創造出前所未見的感官與觸覺體驗，成為 TBW Books 迄今為止最具實驗性的出版物之一。

TBW Books 並將本書所有收益全數捐贈予 Prison University Project。

Assignment No. 2 is a visual document inspired by the writing of Michael Nelson, an inmate serving a twenty-five to life sentence in San Quentin Prison. Written while in solitary confinement in 2011 in response to a request to evaluate two photographs, the essay finds voice through the images of artists Hiroshi Sugimoto and Richard Misrach to create an eloquently piercing contemplation on the experience and mindset of an American inmate.

The project’s origins lie in the Prison University Project, a non-profit organization that provides inmates at San Quentin an opportunity to earn an AA degree. The title is derived from the second written response prompt in Visual Concerns in Photography, a class led by artists and professors Doug Dertinger and Nigel Poor.

Meticulously reproduced from the legal pad the essay was drafted on, each folio is uniquely hand stamped with title and date. The folio’s dynamic writing and imagery is paired with an equally sculptural physicality to create a sensory and tactile experience that is unlike anything produced by TBW Books to date. 

All proceeds go to the Prison University Project.