about me

Bruce Lisker in the year 2010, the sun shining in his face, seated on a balcony in Marina del Rey, California.
c. 2010, Marina del Rey.

H
i! I’m Bruce. I'm a wrongful conviction survivor, an activist and an artist. I speak out against injustice, and for causes in which I believe, including the abolition of the death penalty. My reasons are very personal, born of self love and healing.

On March 10 1983, the life I'd known for 17 short years abruptly and violently changed forever. That's when I discovered my mom, attacked and left for dead on the floor of our family home. I called for help, lent first aid, and did all anyone could have done to help. Sadly, my mother succumbed to her massive injuries, and died that day.

The Los Angeles police Department rushed to judge me guilty, framing me for her murder. I was convicted, and sentenced to Life in prison.

Imprisoned more than 26 years for a crime I didn’t commit, I was unable to enjoy even basic human liberty, or to pursue creative passions including my photography (such as featured here). Then, at long last, after endless years of court battles I was finally able to prove my innocence before the U.S. District Court.

Bruce Lisker, circa 1974, in Hawaii. Holding the family's 8mm video camera, looking straight-on.
Hawaii, c.1974 — Me and our 8mm camera. Years later, 48 Hours Mysteries would use footage shot this very day in their segment about my mother's botched murder investigation, and my wrongful conviction, entitled "The Whole Truth."

On August 13, 2009, exactly nine-thousand six-hundred fifty-three days after a scared, innocent teenager was thrust into a terrifying and uncertain future, I was exonerated and released.

The subjects of my photographic pieces are my own private magic. They are the dreams that kept me alive and reaching for something sane and correct, something permanent and true, something beyond and greater than the high walls and electrified fences holding me fast.

These heartfelt images are what kept me fighting for the day when I might rise again from my living hell and walk free, as I deserved. Even in the darkest moments, my impassioned daydreams kept hope alive in my heart, which allowed me to survive my ordeal with love, compassion, and humanity intact.

From giant redwoods to windblown beach scenes, adorable pets to rolling hills dotted with majestic oaks, all of these images — and the many still to come — are the seminal sparks of my life-sustaining daydreams.

*I hope you'll enjoy!*