New exhibition by Amartey Golding concludes multi-year justice system project at FACT

FACT Liverpool presents a new installation by artist Amartey Golding opening from Friday 23 May until Sunday 10 August 2025.

This new exhibition being held at FACT features a large chainmail sculpture, accompanied by an audio work, that has been created with imprisoned men at HMP Altcourse (Liverpool, UK). The intricate garment reflects their shared stories and explores themes of identity and societal behaviours. This solo exhibition marks the conclusion of Resolution, a multi-year project investigating how art can influence public attitudes and decision-making within the justice system.

Amartey Golding’s practice explores themes of masculinity, nationhood, violence, and vulnerability. Since 2023, he has worked with groups of imprisoned men at HMP Altcourse in Fazakerley, Liverpool. During sessions, Golding and the participants shared conversations and stories while weaving individual chainmail rings. Using these links, Golding has worked to create a large-scale chainmail suit, which is presented in FACT’s first-floor gallery following an initial display at HMP Altcourse.

Titled Chainmail 4: Silent Knight, the garment is the largest suit of armour in Golding’s ongoing Chainmail series, through which he explores what individuals do to protect themselves—and the cost of that protection. Weighing over 200 kilograms and constructed of more than 165,300 individual metal rings, the sculpture is reminiscent of a quilted duvet clutched tightly at the head, with only a minuscule gap from which to look out. The design further includes drawings produced by the men, intricately woven by Golding as symbols into the structure. The permanence of the chainmail holds deep meaning for the men, ensuring that their contributions will always be present and cannot be erased or removed.

In British culture, the image of a knight in shining armour evokes ideas of honour, class, service, violence, and sacrifice. In this work, Golding reimagines the suit of armour as a way to reflect on the tools many men use to navigate modern pressures and systems that preside over them. Within the gallery, a soundscape produced using popular songs creates a space for reflection, inviting visitors to sit with the work. Chainmail 4: Silent Knight explores relationships and separation, encouraging us to reflect on the complex realities faced by men, both personally and as part of society.

FACT has a long history of working with the justice system, with collaborations and commissions dating back over ten years. Since 2019, with support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, FACT’s Learning team and Liverpool John Moores University have worked with artists Melanie Crean, Katrina Palmer, Ain Bailey, and Amartey Golding in prisons across Liverpool, Rochdale, and York on a project titled Resolution. Imprisoned people, staff members, and those who influence decision-makers were invited to participate. Each collaboration culminated in the commissioning of a new artwork, publicly presented in exhibitions at FACT in 2024 and 2025.

Resolution’s impact extends beyond the four major commissions, with resources, events, and documentation produced to amplify the project’s reach. Works by Melanie Crean and Katrina Palmer each culminated in new publications, and FACT released a series of audio podcasts and resources featuring many of the project’s participants and artists. FACT is also set to publish an online journal featuring texts by Dr. Emma Murray (Associate Professor of Criminal and Social Justice at the Centre for Equities in Uniformed Public Services at Anglia Ruskin University), Andrew Neilson (Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform), and Vid Simoniti (Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Art at the University of Liverpool), among others.

Golding’s exhibition is accompanied by a series of free events, including tours, workshops, and panel discussions, to further explore the ideas within Chainmail 4: Silent Knight and reflect on the learnings of Resolution as a whole.

Amartey Golding, Artist, said:

“It’s been an honour working with FACT, and the men and staff of the prison, over the past years. This project will have a lasting Impact on me and my work and I hope the weight of this subject can be felt by all who come to see it and sit with it.”

For more information, head to the FACT website.

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