Artwork
Life Without a Family
Life Without a Family is a poster by Bernadette Brittain. It dates from 1974 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Produced in 1974, *Life Without a Family* is a screen-printed poster created by Bernadette Brittain for the Red Dragon Print Collective. Commissioned by the Prisoner’s Families and Friends Association, it addresses the social consequences of incarceration. The work contrasts two scenes to highlight the isolation experienced by both prisoners and their relatives.
Subject & Meaning
The poster presents a visual dichotomy: a solitary man behind prison bars and a tightly grouped family with blurred faces. The accompanying text—*Life Without a Family* and *A Family Without Life*—reframes conventional notions of freedom and confinement. The juxtaposition underscores the emotional and social toll of imprisonment on those both inside and outside carceral institutions.
Technique & Style
Executed in screen printing, the poster employs stark contrasts—pale figures against dark backgrounds, rigid bars beside clustered forms—to amplify its message. The blurred faces of the family suggest anonymity and collective experience, while the solitary prisoner’s defined features emphasize individual suffering. The design’s simplicity heightens its emotional impact.
History & Provenance
Created for the Prisoner’s Families and Friends Association, based in London, the poster was part of a broader campaign to raise awareness of the struggles faced by prisoners’ relatives. Produced by the Red Dragon Print Collective, it reflects the era’s activist printmaking, which often merged visual art with social advocacy. The work is now held in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection.
Context
Emerging in the 1970s, the poster aligns with movements advocating for criminal justice reform and support for affected families. It critiques the broader societal tendency to overlook the ripple effects of imprisonment. By centering the experiences of prisoners’ relatives, the work challenges perceptions of punishment as an individual rather than collective burden.
Artist & collection
Artist
These five posters came out of South Africa in 1974, sharp, black-and-white prints meant to wake people up.
