Lawrence “L” Jenkins
he/him
Stafford Creek Corrections Center
DOC #306665
Bio
Lawrence "L" Jenkins, co-founder and co-director of Solidarity Art Collective, is a self-taught, mixed-media visual artist as well as a teaching artist. L specializes in portraiture and is leaning into etching and abstract realism with acrylic and oil paints…
“Creativity, to me, is a freedom practice. It’s a reminder that I'm not limited to the prison(s) around me. Creativity, for me, is a reconnecting and reclaiming process. A reassurance that no matter how far away from "home" I am. I'm still deeply connected to my Roots and ALL that gives me Sustenance, Light, Energy, Balance.. Making life and its struggles I find myself in, survivable.. Creativity also reassures me that I have power to transform and transcend. No matter the subject, the canvas, the material nor the situations or circumstances. Creativity doesn't know the difference.
Being able to share this with others is the greatest gift…”
Contact L
L is currently engaged in a campaign for his freedom. Learn more about him and how you can support his campaign at freelawrencemovement.com/.
Please consider writing to L if you like his work! You can contact him online through Securus, the e-messaging platform used by Washington prisons, or by snail mail. For more instructions and L’s contact information, see our guide here.
"Nikki Giovanni Black Joy", graphite and ink on paper, 28"x22". Black-and-white portrait of Nikki Giovanni with her face turned up in laughter, and the words "Black Joy" in cursive up the side of the piece
"Peaceful Unrest", acrylic and wooden beads on chipboard, 2025, 28"x22". A brown wooden mask with accents of red on its stylized face, including on the eyelids and nose. There is a yellow background with scattered geometric shapes in orange and dark red paint splatters
"Untitled #3", charcoal, 24"x19". Black and gray depiction of a horse wearing a bit and reins
"Malcolm X/Organization of Afro-American Unity", graphite on paper, 28"x22". Black-and-white portrait of Malcolm X looking thoughtful with his hand raised to his chin, with the letters "OAAU" behind him, representing the Organization of Afro-American Unity
"Sankofa Bird", artwork bird with black head and neck and a red body, curled backwards so that its beak touches its body and the neck is curved, using Ghanaian Akan symbolism
"Untitled #2", charcoal on paper, 28"x22". Black and gray portrait of James Baldwin holding a cigarette and peering off to the side
"Ida B. Wells". Black and white portrait of Ida B. Wells looking off to the side
"Giraffes". Two giraffes, a parent and its offspring, touching foreheads
"Horse". A brown horse with a white star marking on its forehead
"The New Prisoner", sharpie ink pen. Portrait of Martin Sostre in black and white with a red background
"By Any Means Necessary", sharpie ink pen. Portrait of Malcolm X in black and white with a red background
"The Fire Next Time", sharpie ink pen. Portrait of James Baldwin in black and white with a red background
"Blood in My Eye", sharpie ink pen. Portrait of George Jackson in black and white with a red background
"Women's Empowerment", ink on paper, 2023, 14"x11". Artwork in the style of Rosie the Riveter but featuring a Black woman rendered in black and white flexing her biceps, with a blue and gold striped background
"Untitled #7", charcoal on paper, 14"x11". Black and gray depiction of a rhino in profile
"Fred Hampton". Black-and-white portrait of Fred Hampton calling out
"Untitled #5", pastel and ink on paper, 12"x9". A black-and-white panther in profile snarling with two flowers behind it, with a dark red border and the words "Anarchy, Liberate, Abolish, Revolt" in the corners.
"Tiger", pastel. An orange tiger with black stripes on a white background.
"Untitled #4", charcoal on paper, 2025, 24"x18". Black-and-white depiction of the rhino, looking imposing and facing the viewer head on
"Cougar", charcoal. A black-and-white cougar, close up on its face
"Malcolm X", pastel, 2025. Portrait of Malcolm X with his hand resting on his face, looking thoughtful
"Untitled #6", graphite on paper, 14"x11". Black-and-white portrait of Maya Angelou looking pensive, her chin resting in her hand
"Africa Must Wake Up Feat. K'naan by Nas and Damian Marley", graphite and ink on paper, 2025, 28"x22". Black-and-white depiction of the continent of Africa with a lion's face fitted inside it
"Butterfly", etching, 2025, 8.5"x11". An silver butterfly etched from black paper based off of the gynoandromorph of the common blue butterfly. The details in the asymmetrical wings resemble the bars of a prison cell. Behind the butterfly are streaks of lightning.
“Creativity cannot be confined by bars, concrete, or barbed wire. Creativity is the channel that imagination, ideas, and energy can flow fluidly above, underneath, and around the structures [prisons] that are built to contain the human being psychologically, physically, and metaphysically. I have found, in the depths of solitude, that there is a creative outlet for thought and practice to manifest freely. Creativity helps us (re)possess mind, body, and soul. And when this is geared toward liberation and emancipation... revolutionary things happen.”