6x9: A Virtual Reality (VR) Experience of Solitary Confinement
6x9
I pull the headset down so it veils my eyes. In my darkness, I am handed the headphones and I put them on so they cover my ears. I’m geared up, ready to be immersed. After a brief introduction lights brighten and I find myself in a cell. I swivel around in my chair and stretch my arms out. I begin to understand the surrounding virtual space.
I’m on a bed. The mattress is thin and the sheets are thinner. There’s a wall to my left. A thin metal desk with an affixed stool is adjacent to me. The door is to my right, a short pace or two from the foot of my bed. Adjacent to the door- my diagonal- is a metal toilet and sink. I’m suddenly very thankful for that. A voice welcomes me to my cell as I become accustomed. Inmates' voices begin to take me through day to day life in this space
This is your space, you gotta keep it clean...
...wash yourself everyday, they call it a birdbath
You have to work out - 50 jumping jacks, 50 pushups…an hour each day...
...ask your neighbor for reading material
I learn that both breakfast and lunch are brought promptly at 6:30AM. We can’t sleep in or else we won’t eat. Dinner comes at 4:00PM so we should save our fruit and bread for snacks at night.
The narrative continues and I am in awe at the design of the virtual reality (VR) technology. A voice tells me why people are placed in Special Housing Units (SHU), while words appear on the walls around me—encouraging me to explore the 3D space and expansive (yet entrapping) 360° view. I learn why inmates often end up here.
Swearing
Looking at an officer the wrong way
Possessing drugs
Taking too many rolls of toilet paper
Fighting
The story takes a dark turn and the dreams that were initially an escape to loved ones and freedom become just as encasing and isolating as the white 6x9 box. Isolation sinks in. With the loss of human connection, the inmate feels a gradual loss of his or her identity. Isolation can lead to severe, life-threatening consequences.
The guard walks past you as if you’re not even there...
...you begin to notice every brick
I see my mother in the corner...
...you begin to notice every paint stroke
The toilet sweats and I wonder why it’s melting...
The walls are fuzzy and I begin to float up, up, up to the ceiling. Floating above myself, I can’t imagine how somebody could keep in touch with reality when all they come to know is this coffin of a room. I learn that this isolated condition- loss of control, lack of social interaction- can permanently alter the brain. The walls reveal the reality of the situation. Incomprehensible words creep up the corners and cracks in the walls threaten crumbling sanity. The voices speak of depression, self-harm, and suicide- which are all to often the tragic outcomes for confined individuals.
I come down from the ceiling and I’m in front of the door. I hear the guards. I gaze out the translucent window though I know I can’t see anything but shadows. Changing light. After a period of high intensity and confusion I feel grounded again. The narrative wraps up, the credits roll over silence; I’m left tranquil yet captivated. I decompress by speaking to the volunteers and I notice my heart is racing. For me, it is over.
My short ten minutes in the virtual 6x9 space was a mere peak behind the veil. Whether it comes close to the actual experience I will never know- but I do feel like I gained insight and empathy for the 80,000+ Americans who currently live in solitary.
On any given day in New York, as many as 4,000 men, women, and children are in extreme isolation. According to the Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC), five out of six SHU sentences in New York’s prisons are for nonviolent misbehavior. Additionally, people of color are overrepresented in the SHUs.
Most people sent to live in isolation spend months or years there. In the state of New York, some individuals have been in solitary confinement for more than two decades. New York places no limit on the time individuals can spend in isolation.
As I witnessed in the Guardian's VR exhibit, the sensory deprivation, lack of social interaction, and loss of control can lead to intense suffering and sever psychological damage. The use of the practices increases recidivism and has not been shown to reduce prison violence.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
LEARN the facts about solitary confinement and other forms of prison isolation in New York at:
WRITE to the following officials and ask them to end the torture of solitary confinement in New York’s prisons:
Please incorporate personal thoughts and experiences as well as any facts that stick out to you.
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of the State of NY
NYS Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Mr. Anthony J. Annucci
Acting Commissioner
NYS DOCCS
1220 Washington Ave, B2
Albany, NY 12226
