The Bare Prison of Santo Stefano

<p><em>The Bare Prison of Santo Stefano</em> is the seventh issue of a series of publications published by Wilfried Lentz. <em>The Bare Prison of Santo Stefano</em> (2011) is published as an accompaniment to the presentation of a series of works with the same title at Frieze Art Fair 2011. This publication is signed and numbered in an edition of 250.</p> <p><i>The Prison of Santo Stefano</i>, 2011 is informed by research into the state of detention. Focusing on a prisoner’s general conditions, Biscotti analyses the psychological effects caused by isolation, the aim of which is to destroy physical and intellectual abilities. The project was developed inside the first prison built for life imprisonment, which opened its doors in 1793 on the island of Santo Stefano, 50 km from the Italian coastline. The prison is a Panopticon resembling the San Carlo Opera Theatre in Naples. The panoptic structure, developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), expresses the desire of institutional powers to punish the prisoner and annul his identity with the constant sensation of being controlled.</p>