Mark Laughney

Draftsman & Painter

Member since 2022

Mark Loughney is a Philadelphia-based draftsman and painter whose work examines incarceration, memory, and the enduring humanity of people impacted by the criminal legal system. While incarcerated, he began his ongoing portrait series, Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration, creating hundreds of portraits that document the lives and identities of people affected by mass incarceration. The project debuted in 2020 as part of Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration at MoMA PS1 and continues to expand through portraits of advocates and supporters working toward criminal justice reform. Mark is a 2023 Art for Justice Fellow and a 2024 Mural Arts Reimagining Reentry Fellow. Alongside his portrait practice, he creates ethereal drawings and paintings inspired by ideas first developed during long nights in his prison cell, where imagination became a means of survival and creative exploration.

Artist statement

My work is rooted in the belief that every person deserves to be seen. Through drawing and painting, I explore the human impact of incarceration, using portraiture to document lives that are too often overlooked or erased.

While I was incarcerated, I began Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration. What started as a way to understand the people around me has grown into an ongoing body of work that continues to expand beyond prison walls. Each portrait is an act of witnessing and a reminder of our shared humanity.

Alongside portraiture, I create drawings and paintings that emerge from memories, dreams, and the quiet hours of reflection that shaped my artistic practice while I was incarcerated. Together, these works explore identity, resilience, and the unseen emotional landscapes that exist alongside lived experience. Through my art, I hope to encourage deeper conversations about justice, empathy, and the value of every human life.