[5] "Everything could be taken from me, except my ability to create" - Jesse KrimesDuring this time, he devised a way using hair gel and toothpaste to hand-transfer images of individuals labeled as offenders in newspapers onto 292 bars of prison-issued soap.
The soap bars were then embedded into carved playing cards to examine an array of issues, including the failures of the American justice system.
Krimes explained that “artwork facilitated conversation" and humanized him to some of the guards.”[8][9] Upon his release he co-founded Right of Return USA, a fellowship program to support previously incarcerated artists.
[10] In 2016, JPMorgan Chase settled a lawsuit with Krimes, acting as plaintiff, for charging exorbitant fees for a debit card program that was supposed to help released inmates.
[11] Krimes has collaborated and received public commissions with a focus on prison reform including Amnesty International, Ford Foundation, Open Philanthropy, and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts’ Restorative Justice program, to name a few.