First and foremost, Yours Truly is a project about people—starting with the 116 brave individuals who inspired an outpouring of hope and encouragement from visitors to Alcatraz Island. Of those prisoners of conscience, five are highlighted in the pages that follow, offering readers insights into the beliefs that have sustained them and the inordinate challenges they have faced for upholding the value of human rights. John Kiriakou (US), Ahmed Maher (Egypt), Chelsea Manning (US), Ebrahim Sharif Al Sayed (Bahrain), Irom Sharmila Chanu (India), and their loved ones share their stories and reflect on Yours Truly as a source of strength. A brief biography introduces each subject and outlines the complex political realities that led to his or her arrest. Each profile is complemented by a poignant selection of postcards that were completed and sent during Ai Weiwei’s exhibition. Remarkably, all five of these former prisoners are now free—suggesting that even our smallest gestures of kindness can be forces of change.
Cellhouse bars on Alcatraz Island
Ai Weiwei, Yours Truly, 2014; interactive installation: custom-designed postcards, racks, and furniture; part of @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz, Alcatraz Island, 2014–2015
