As the artist notes, “the architectural expression of the will to contain or separate one group from another became the formal structure of many of these works.”

His intricately-detailed paintings, in turn, invite the viewer to consider the moral implications of internment in its various institutionalized forms – from prisons and schools to deportation camps – while offering hope for means of breaking through these constraints.

Ladders appear as tools for escape, and breakages and holes in walls signal the promise of freedom on the other side, while reminding viewers that partitions are precarious and can always be surmounted, if there’s a collective will to do so.