JESSE KRIMES | "Apokaluptein:16389067"
EDITOR
With: Media In Neighborhoods Group
Client: Mural Arts Program
Released: 2013
ABOUT
Federal agents raided Jesse Krimes house in 2009, and found 157 grams of powder cocaine. After he
refused to cooperate they labeled him a “drug kingpin” and charged him with possession of 15 to 50 kilos
of cocaine, a weight that brings with it the possibility of life in prison.
At his sentencing, the judge’s recommendation that he be sent to a low-security facility, to be close to his newborn son, was ignored and he was sent to a facility that houses maximum security inmates. Everyone from serial killers to low-level, first- time, non-violent offenders to opposing gang members were being forced to live together”. To avoid joining a gang he kept to him self where he found refuge in working on his art.
The artwork "Apokaluptein:16389067" was conceived and executed within federal prison while he was serving a 70 month sentence for distribution of a controlled substance. The process involved smuggling contraband works through the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the United States Postal Service, piece by piece, over a period of 6 years.
Apokaluptein:16389067 is made of federal prison bed sheets. He used hair gel and a plastic spoon to transfer images he collected from The New York Times.
Jesse Krimes was released from federal prison on September 12, 2013. While finishing the last 6 months of his
sentence on home confinement, he was able to piece together all 39 panels for the first time.