Asylum. Yes this could be considered dark. I photograph asylums and find the cemeteries usually on the grounds. Either they are full of trash or the numbered markers are so deeply buried in the ground you cant really see them. Other markers have been pulled up and thrown behind sheds. This was a era where consent forms for trial studies and behavior not acceptable for family members or society allowed people to be locked away for a life time. Wards of the state meant you could be done with any way that the state wanted to use you. I have a kinship for these old abandoned silent buildings deteriorating once home to so many thousand upon thousands whos lives were full at times. They were working facilities. Farming, woodworking and very self sufficient. Some residents made friendships that lasted a life time even after the places closed and group homes became the in thing. Many normals were placed in mental asylums on the whim of a family member and the stroke of a pen by a judge. I hope they were able to use their minds to create inner worlds in which they could go to. We should honor those folks they paved the way for research and vaccines that are now saving many lives. This is on exhibit at Living Arts of Tulsa at the gala event. This is art that brings the past into the future so we dont repeat the mistakes made in the past.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 23:53:09 +0000