Tim Felfoldi is currently a prisoner at Collins Bay Institution (minimum) and is working on a book that features his art work, including the pieces on the front and back covers of this issue of the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons. Below is his biography:
I have drawn for as long as I could remember as a coping skill to address my disabilities (i.e. dyslexia, brain injuries). So with my need to tell my stories I turned to my ability to draw in order to communicate to others. In 1995, I received an editor’s choice award from the Nation Library of Piety.
During my incarceration, I transferred my artistry to the underground prison tattooing industry. In the mid 1990’s, I along with four key members of the lifers’ group at Joyceville Institution got involved in prison harm reduction programs, specifically for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis infections, forcing Correctional Service Canada (CSC) to confront the issues of this epidemic we were facing. Our efforts, along with community agencies, lobbied CSC to introduce safer tattooing within prisons as a harm reduction strategy, which resulted in six tattoo shops being opened in Canadian prisons in 2005. However, the Government of Canada cancelled the pilot program a year later after reportedly spending $3.7 million. They claimed “it was a waste of taxpayers money”. However, their own financial auditors praised the program and stated that “it in fact save the public money on long-term treatments of new cases”.
As time progressed, I returned to my drawing in an attempt to address the negative impact my involvement in the tattooing campaign was having on my parole hearings. This opened some doors for me in the art world, which led to some work being published and showcased in both galleries and museums in Ontario, Canada. I have also donated some of my works to agencies like PASAN, the Central Ontario Chrome Divas and the Ontario Distress Centre in support of their causes so that more awareness can be generated for infections / diseases like HIV / AIDS, Hepatitis, Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer, suicide and depression.
