food related crime


micheal stole a cow
james stole a cow
timothy stole a cow
martin a stole a cow
thomas stole a cow
james and timothy stole turnips
george stole apples
patrick stole a sheep



escaping from prison with a spoon

when talking to a tour guide at Freemantle prison he told me of a child on one of his tours who when asked how to escape form the prison suggested escaping by using a spoon to lift up the floor boards and then to dig their way out.. when it was suggested that it would be hard to keep the sand from falling in on the dug tunnel the girl suggested using porridge from the prison meals to line the tunnel..



the hopelessness of escape / liberty


little chance of convicts returning to county of origin

when this you see remember me until i gain my liberty
inscription on a convict love token

a spoon with holes in it

a lacy spoon



irish famine hunger related crime

ideas
a crochet patterned spoon ? a lacy spoon refererencing crochet of ireland
using rudimentary tools at hand .. making a convict love token
use the same technique with a spoon .. piercing surface






  • contemporary safety cutlery
  • airline cutlery
  • plastic cutlery














    ''Once, skeletons were locked in the closet. No longer, as we dig deeper for the roots of our family trees, writes Steve Meacham. More than 40 years ago, says Heather Garnsey, the sober staff who worked behind the counters of the Society of Australian Genealogists felt they had to protect innocents from the "C" word.
    If someone came in researching their family tree and asked to see the all-important 1828 census, they wouldn't be allowed to look themselves. A member of staff would do it for them, fearing the worst. "If it was found that they had convict origins, they'd be told, 'No, there wasn't anything of interest for you'. [The researchers] knew that the person would not be happy to have convict ancestry. They felt they had to mask the truth." The convict stain was too awful to admit.
    And now? Garnsey, executive officer of Australia's premier genealogical body, laughs. "Now it's a     badge of honour to collect as many convicts in your family tree as possible - even if you wouldn't have wanted to meet any of them today."



    http://eogn.typepad.com/othernews/2005/07/the_dead_person.html











    make convict badges..

    • wear your own convict as a badge of honour

    • claim a convict..

    • match the convict to the crime

    • choose the trade and the crime

    • what crime would you admit to in your family ?

    stealing turnips, pickpocketing, murder,rape, abusing a child, bestiality?










    gathering trades and crimes from the freemantle prison database i have been thinking of making works which match the trade with the crime.

    how would a chairmaker break into a house ? how would a farmer or a paperbag maker forge coins?


    match the trade with the crime..


















    a farmer posessing coin moulds




    a carpenter stealing apples






    • a carpenter stealing apples




    • a farmer posessing coin moulds




    • a labourer stealing a shirt




    • a paperbagmaker uttering forged coins




    • a chairmaker posessing housebreaking tools




    • a jeweller pickpocketing




    • a farmer stealing turnips




    • a glassblower abusing a girl under 10 years



    a chairmaker posessing housebreaking tools



    a tailor stealing clothes










    it would be interesting to make a work for each convict to tell their story

    • why did the tailor steal clothes?
    • which house breaking tools did the chairmaker posess? his chairmaking tools?
    • did the jeweller make something to aid his pickpocketing?
    • why did the farmer steal the turnips? had his crop failed?

    conversations http://www.craftvic.asn.au/symmetry

    I found these two guys who look like they could be turnip stealing twins.. i have been looking on ships that irish convicts have travelled on and much of the crime is food related...alot of stealing cows and sheep


    FOLEY, James Convict No 2040 Ship Name Robert Small Ship Arrival Date 19 Aug 1853 Birth Date 1830 Deceased Nov-09 Marital Status Unmarried Occupation labourer Sentence Date 20 Mar 1850 Sentence Province Cork Sentence Country Ireland Length of Sentence 7yrs Crime stealing turnips Ticket of Leave Date 20 Jun 1854

    FOLEY, Timothy Convict No 2041 Ship Name Robert Small Ship Arrival Date 19 Aug 1853 Birth Date 1830 Deceased cMay 1910 Marital Status Unmarried Occupation labourer Sentence Date 20 Mar 1850 Sentence Province Cork Sentence Country Ireland Length of Sentence 7yrs Crime stealing turnips Ticket of Leave Date 29 Jun 1854


    micheal stole a cow

    james stole a cow

    timothy stole a cow

    martin a stole a cow

    thomas stole a cow



    i have been looking at convict statistics and am interested in the occupations of the convicts

    38%     convict occupations were artisans

    WA convicts statistics: 1850 – 1868

    Crime Percentage
    Simple Larceny 33
    Burglary (usually with violence) 19
    Robbery 9
    Crimes against the person 13
    Arson 5
    Crimes of a public nature 6
    Military 6 Unknown 9

    Occupation
    Labouring 35
    Agricultural (usually labouring) 8
    Artisan 38
    Retail 6
    Soldier/Sailor 4
    Domestic Servant 6
    Clerical 2
    Unknown 1




    Click to use the zoom feature




    convicts are listed by their names, personal markings and profession ..

    carpenter stout. cross on tower anchor D J D love and liberty right arm: man R T C S B left arm
    brickmaker stout. three scars back of hand ring 2nd finger left hand, blue dot near right thumb
    labourer freckled cut under left eye


    • marking tools with information on the artisans
    • pinhole text relating to the convict love tokens






    screwdriver handle with pinhole text














    when looking through Freemantle prison website and convict data base i came across George...

    http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/history/ConvictsAndShips/convict_display.cfm

    http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/




    ORPIN, George Convict No 3596

    Ship Name Adelaide

    Ship Arrival Date 18 Jul 1855

    Birth Date 1826

    Marital Status Unmarried

    Occupation carpenter

    Literacy semi lit

    Religion Prot

    Sentence Date 4 Jan 1853

    Sentence Place Maidstone

    Sentence Province Kent

    Sentence Country England

    Court Sess

    Length of Sentence 20yrs

    Crime stealing apples

    Ticket of Leave Date 13 Nov 1857

    Certificate of Freedom Date 17 Jan 1873




    Tickets of Leave
    A Ticket of Leave (TOL) was a document given to convicts when granting them freedom to work and live within a given district of the colony before their sentence expired or they were pardoned. TOL convicts could hire themselves out or be self-employed. They could also acquire property. Church attendance was compulsory, as was appearing before a Magistrate when required. Permission was needed before moving to another district and 'passports' were issued to those convicts whose work required regular travel between districts. Convicts applied through their masters to the Bench Magistrates for a TOL and needed to have served a stipulated portion of their sentence:TOL documents record the convict's number, name, ship, year of arrival, the master of the ship, native place, trade or calling, offence, place and date of trial, sentence, year of birth, physical description, the district the prisoner was allocated to, the granting Bench, the date of issue, and further remarks about Conditional Pardons and district changes





    Incarceration, solitary confinement, corporal and capital punishment were all practised at Fremantle Prison during its history.

    Understanding of and attitudes towards what constitutes a criminal act and how that act should be punished has changed substantially over time. Comparisons between the types of crimes committed and the type and length of sentence across time can provide evidence not only of changes in society itself but also in the general philosophy of criminal and social justice.


    DALBY, William Convict No 1200 Ship Name Marion Ship Arrival Date 30 Jan 1852 Birth Date 1815 Marital Status Mar 1 chd Occupation butcher Sentence Date 18 Oct 1847 Sentence Place Leicester Sentence Province Leicester Sentence Country England Court Qtr Sess Length of Sentence 15yrs Crime sheep stealing Ticket of Leave Date 31 Jan 1852

    DABBS, Samuel Convict No 5688 Ship Name Palmerston Ship Arrival Date 11 Feb 1861 Alias aka DOBBS Birth Date 1820 Marital Status Mar Occupation miner Literacy semi lit Religion Prot Sentence Date 1858 Sentence Province Stafford Sentence Country England Length of Sentence 15yrs Crime rape Ticket of Leave Date 7 Apr 1863 Certificate of Freedom Date 14 Jan 1871 Certificate of Freedom Place Swan

















    when you see this
     think of me
    for     i am in a foreign country
















    "When this you see
    Think on me
    When I am in a far country"

    inscription on a convict love token




    'pennies had been altered in order to serve as mementos for the convicts who were soon to be transported away from their homeland and from their family and friends. in official records of the times, these tokens were also referred to as "leaden hearts".







    discontent and venom could be averted in a clandestine manner without risk of detection of reprisal

    • portable graffiti...
    • token replacing the body and voice of the convict.
    • bridging separation wrought by emigration and transportation.
    • illegality of the action may have fuelled the protest and intensified the pleasure
    • postcards before sailing

    convict love tokens referencing tatoos

    the tattooed inscriptions showed that the convicts were real men and women with hopes and fears just like the rest of us and although the tattoos were recorded by the authorities to help identify escaped convicts, to the convicts they were a way to make human statements about themselves.

    For some convicts, tattoos were purely decorative, while others recorded the date of their trial, transportation, or date when their sentence would expire. Others gave family trees, slogans, religious symbols, and many more. One of the most popular images was an anchor and interestingly, most of the wearers had nothing to do with the sea. It was used as a symbol of hope and constancy and was often attached to a loved one's initials.





























    commited a serious offence



























    cus·tom         (kstm)
    n.
    1. A practice followed by people of a particular group or region.
    2. A habitual practice of a person: my custom of reading a little before sleep.
    3. Law A common tradition or usage so long established that it has the force or validity of law.
    4.
    a. Habitual patronage, as of a store.
    b. Habitual customers; patrons.
    5. customs
    a. Duties or taxes imposed on imported and, less commonly, exported goods.
    b. (used with a sing. verb) The governmental agency authorized to collect these duties.
    c. (used with a sing. verb) The procedure for inspecting goods and baggage entering a country.
    6. Tribute, service, or rent paid by a feudal tenant to a lord.
    adj.
    1. Made to order.
    2. Specializing in the making or selling of made-to-order goods: a custom tailor.



    • customs of a country
    • customs in a country
    • customs for a country
    • it is custom to............
    • in the custom of...........

    custom made

    a custom made uniform for a customs officer


    what about an empathy suit for a customs officer..??




    Some experts (psychologists, psychiatrists, and other scientists) believe that not all humans have an ability to feel empathy or perceive the emotions of others

    em·pa·thy (ĕm'pə-thē) pronunciation
    n. Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives

    i have been thinking about 'arrival' ( emigration) into a country both past and present and not understanding the 'customs' of the country.. i have been thinking of making something the customs officer could wear which would help in understanding the travellers position.. something she/ he would wear to help understand what it is like to arrive without knowledge of the culture and 'customs'..


    Empathy

    'Some Post-Modern historians such as Keith Jenkins in recent years have debated whether or not it is possible to empathise with people from the past. Jenkins argues that empathy only enjoys such a privileged position in the present because it corresponds harmoniously with the dominant Liberal discourse of modern society and can be connected to John Stuart Mill's concept of reciprocal freedom. Jenkins argues the past is a foreign country and as we do not have access to the epistemological conditions of bygone ages we are unable to empathise''.

    migrants in the past
    'the influx of people created problems for customs officers .. they had to deal with language and cultural problems when migrants spoke no english and did not understand that certain goods , particularily foodstuffs could not be brought into australia'
    text panel .roundhouse prison. freemantle
















    Due to strict Australian quarantine and customs regulations you're not allowed to bring into the country fresh fruit or vegetables.


    • deirdre nelson
    • fined $220.00 for a serious offence
    • carrying 3 ( forgotten) apples into Australia on 26th April 2007

    'a very expensive way to learn just how seriously Australia takes quarantine protection, but also a strong reminder of the potential impact of an exotic pest of disease on our horticulture industries'

    media release department of agriculture fisheries and forestry 24th august 2004



    $ 70.00 an apple !!!
    and the funny thing is that the apples that were in my bag were pink lady apples which had originated from Australia in the first place




    So am following the irish convicts that went before me .....causing trouble already in Australia.. i had been looking at convict love tokens before i came here and discovered that british convicts would deface coins and inscribe messages into them .. the coins/ love tokens were left with loved ones/family when the convicts boarded the ships for transportation.. defacing coins were an act of defiance and protest .







    'when this you see remember me for i am in a foreign country''
    inscription on a convict love token




    Using the techniques of piercing the surface of the coin i have been creating an act of defiance myself with creating text on the surface of the apple.. i was also thinking of the journey the apple has travelled and also the amount of apple miles. i am doing some more experiments with piercing the apples with text /passport number etc.. the apples have begun to shrivel over time making the text more prominent.


    i have now arrived in Australia for my artists residency at Curtin     University in Perth and am beginning to make new work here .. my possible areas of research interest are

    • irish immigration to australia past and present
    • convict love tokens
    • border control and customs in Australia
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