Art Behind Bars Of Victoria Prison

5 March 2023

After revitalizing the Tai Kwun Prison Yard in Central, this becomes the Center For Heritage And Arts in the capital city of Hong Kong. During the renovations, some prison cells were demolished but one hall was retained which is now one of the attractions in the place. It's the former Victoria Prison which was named after Queen Victoria.

The place would bring you back to the Victorian Era as some original facades were retained. You'll see the typical Victoria prison cells and you'll get to know the life of prisons back then through stories projected on every cell's wall. It's called Art Behind Bars

Let's see some stories behind bars.

Cell #1 shows a projection of a prisoner being beaten by a police officer. Nobody really knows the reason behind this image. The prisoner probably committed a mistake and he's being punished.

In Cell #2 is a hardworking prisoner doing some labor. But is he really doing a task or digging a hole underground to escape? 😅

Cell #3 shows the heartbreaking scene. Even though they are criminals, they also have families and it's heartbreaking to be separated from them.

It must be boring for prisoners to live behind bars. In Cell #23, the prisoner is writing a letter to someone. I tried to translate the silhouette of words on the wall, it says "if I die here, oh my friend..." I am not certain though if the translation was right. But what is certain is, he's a prisoner writing about his life inside the prison and sharing it with someone he knows outside.

And look what the prisoner in Cell #23 is doing. Oh no...he's trying to escape. Will he succeed if HK prison security is tight? But this incident is common back in the day.n

And in every prison, there are bad groups. I guess they are one of those? They seem to represent those bad guys who usually start the fight behind bars. I wasn't able to include the cell number though.

The prison diet was also displayed in one of the cells. It's surprising to know that, prisoners in Victoria prison were given an adequate amount of nourishment contrary to what I've been seeing in movies, lol. Different types of diets suit individual preferences. There were Asian, European, and even vegetarian types of diets.

Each cell has decks that could accommodate three prisons and boxes for each bed for necessary stuff, including the inmates' uniforms. The worst part though was the toilet with no flash. So there were buckets given for night soil and clear water for each cell. You'll know about it here 👇.

There's a stair going to the second floor but was closed for some reason. It probably is connected to the Behind Bars. It's part of the prison that was transformed into a bar and become a hub of foreigners and party lovers at night. I would love to visit this bar as it has interesting interior designs but of course, with a friend, not alone.

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