Division of Identification
Throughout Park Blocks and the fence in the middle of the parking lot in front of the first park block at 1122 NW Davis St, Portland, OR
October 24, 2015 - March 17, 2016
These selected portraits are sourced from a volume of police arrest mug shots found in the City of Portland Archives collections. Created by the Division of Identification, now the Police Identification Division, the photos date between 1947 and 1954. The body of works is presented as a photographic installation in public space that unmasks issues of humanity often camouflaged by social stereotypes and ill-repute of “the other.” The large scale black and white photographic portraits have been installed throughout the Park Blocks of Downtown Portland the same historic locations where people have been arrested for “vagrancy” or other social crimes. “The Division of Identification” is part of Fallen Fruit of Portland presented by Caldera through a Creative Heights grant from the Oregon Community Foundation.