Prison space, time and art : psychological and correctional contexts

Prison isolation is one of the toughest situations in a psychological sense. Compulsory stay in a total institution results in the occurrence of chronic stress. The level of internal discomfort depends, among other things, on the environment where the sentence is served, which is usually poor in stimuli, and thus contributes to the occurrence of sensory deprivation. Another important factor influencing the well-being of prisoners is the duration of sentence. Time has an objective dimension - the length of the sentence, but it also has subjective meaning for inmates. The results of numerous studies indicate the importance of the dominant temporal perspective (past, present, or future) for every aspect of human life. Prison punishment is a necessary response of society to the violation of legal norms by the convict. It is important, however, that even the harshest punishment should be served in humanitarian conditions. For that to happen, the art can be used. The aims of the chapter are as follows: 1) to characterize the psychological importance of time and place while serving a prison sentence, and 2) to analyze artistic projects scientifically designed to modify the conditions of serving a sentence so that it is both more effective in the context of social rehabilitation and more humanitarian.