In the mid-1980s radical photographer Carlos Guarita gained access to a youth detention centre which was part of the 'short, sharp, shock' system introduced in 1979 by the Tory Home Secretary, Willie Whitelaw. Through a fascinating series of images this exhibition exposes the living conditions for inmates subject to the harsh, quasi-military discipline. Carlos Guarita will guide us through the exhibition at 12:30pm.
In 1979 the new Tory government led by by Margaret Thatcher and Home Secretary, Willie Whitelaw, abolished borstals for young offenders and introduced a new system of 'youth detention centres' employing harsh, quasi-military discipline. They proudly claimed in their Party Manifesto that they were going to "experiment with a tougher regime as a short, sharp shock for young criminals". Using a series of fascinating images taken inside one such institution in the mid 1980s by radical photographer […]
