Wisconsin 2009

"Wisconsin" (2009) is a photograph by Richard Ross, depicting a young person in a grey jumpsuit, their hands cuffed behind their backs. The image is part of Ross's ongoing series, "Teenage," a project that explores the lives of teenagers in various correctional facilities across the United States. Ross's work often focuses on marginalized youth, aiming to humanize their experiences and challenge societal perceptions of juvenile delinquency. The photograph's stark composition and the subject's stoic posture evoke a sense of confinement and vulnerability. The image's focus on the hands, the symbol of agency and action, highlights the loss of freedom experienced by young people in the juvenile justice system.