James “Yaya” Hough is a Pittsburgh-based artist and painter. He was incarcerated at the age of seventeen and served twenty-three years before being released in 2019. While in prison, he took art classes and partnered with Mural Arts Philadelphia as a muralist. He has contributed to more than fifty murals and was the inaugural artist in residence at the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. For more on James’s work, see his Instagram account: @hough9459.

---

Artist’s Statement

As the artist in residence at the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, I crafted a collection of portraits, Points of Connection, to humanize people living and working within justice systems through my art-making. For the project, I crafted portraits of formerly incarcerated people, victim advocates, and members of the district attorney’s office—all using the same size and technique. I created these images with the hope of offering a window into the larger system, enabling us all to approach the justice system from perspectives of transformation, repair, and growth.