Reading Prison in the UK hosted a rather remarkable inpatient 120 years ago . Oscar Wilde was confine in the facility for two age after being discover guilty of sodomy in1895 . Now , after remain closed to the the world for over a century , Wilde ’s honest-to-god cell is serving as the centrepiece of a tribute to the author , The New York Timesreports .
The originative force behind deep down : Artists and Writers in Reading Prison isArtangel , the art - producer couplet know for orchestrating projects in unusual locations . Patti Smith , Ai Weiwei , and Ralph Fiennes are a few of the artists contribute their talents to this recent exposition .
From now until October 30 , up to 100 visitant an time of day will be admitted to tramp the halls of the now - defunct chemical compound where they can look up to art adorning the walls or listen to headsets with author reading their piece of work . A portrait from South African - born painter Marlene Dumas depict Wilde beside an image of his lover Lord Alfred Douglas . In one cell , artist Steve McQueen covered the seam in gold - plated mosquito veiling .
At the heart of the show is the cell where Wilde spent 23 hour each day . Unlike the surrounding space , the cramped way has been keep sparse so as not to distract visitors from muted reflection . The cell next door has been stocked with vintage copy of some of the volume he show during his time imprisoned , include works by Saint Augustine , Wordsworth , and Keats .
Wilde ’s clip in prison house define the terminal yr of his lifetime . He search safety in Paris after his release and compose one of his most notable poems , " The Ballad of Reading Gaol , " inspired by his experience as an inmate . After three years of freedom , hedied in 1900of cerebral meningitis .
This marks the first clip in the prison house ’s history that Wilde ’s cell is open for the public to visit . Though it no longer functions as a prison , the meter reading construction is being kept on understudy in case more infinite for inmates is needed , so this could be the last clock time in a while the populace gets to glint deep down .
[ h / tThe New York Times ]
Know of something you think we should cover ? Email us attips@mentalfloss.com .
