Solitaire explores the ideology of solitary confinement at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The prison opened in 1829, designed to reform inmates through isolation, contemplation and labor. Based on Quaker ideals of quiet reflection, the system failed when prisoners developed mental problems and overcrowding necessitated shared spaces. Solitaire examines the embodiment of the ideas behind this experiment, focusing on individual cells and the architecture of enclosure, surveillance and isolation. It looks back in history and is influenced by Foucault’s ideas regarding panopticism and punishment, while also made with an awareness of contemporary issues in imprisonment, punishment and reform.