AN exhibition showcasing artwork inspired by Reading Gaol is on display at Woodley Library until the end of November.
The exhibition, 'The Prison Pictures', features work from artists, Liz Real, from Caversham, and Heather McAteer from Belfast and forms part of the library's 'Art in the Library' scheme.
Liz visited Reading Gaol in 2016 and took pictures of things that caught her eye.
A couple of years later she worked the pictures into a series of artwork "inspired by the traces of former inmates".
One piece of artwork, Henry's Hands, is based on a picture Liz saw of Victorian prisoners.
Each of them had their hands flat on their chest which caught Liz's eye.
She discovered the prisoner's hands were a form of identification in the 1800s before the time of fingerprinting and created her own linocut.
Additionally, she created a block print with stitching called 'Free with my Dreams' which was inspired by graffiti scrawled on a cell wall.
Liz, who took part in the Gaol hug, is keen to see the historic prison turned into an arts hub and theatre accessible to the entire community and emphasised the "iconic" building's architectural significance.
READ ALSO: Reading Are You Listening? Festival 2020 - first acts announced.
The exhibition will be on display at Woodley Library until November 30 and is open during the library opening hours.
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