Bound and Alone
A young boy sits alone in a state hospital ward, bound at the wrist to a chair.
Early in 'modern' society's dealing with mental illness, with little knowledge and less experience, the answer as to how to handle the problem seemed to be to remove the mentally ill from society at large and isolate them in a controlled environment, in mental hospitals. These 'hospitals' were little more than warehouses, with abuse common.
In the mid-seventies, with the science of psychology barely 100 yrs. old, mental hospitals had changed little. This image is from that time.
Close to fifty years on now, the science of psychology has matured significantly and, in the main, conditions such as these no longer exist. I've chosen not to identify the facility where this image was taken as it would serve little purpose now beyond shaming. I never knew the patient's name; I trust that his isolation is now over.
Originally shot on B&W negative film.
Black & White Spider Awards: 3rd Place - Honor of Distinction in Photojournalism - 2023; Beauty of Madness exhibition, Praxis Gallery, St. Paul, MN - 2022
A young boy sits alone in a state hospital ward, bound at the wrist to a chair.
Early in 'modern' society's dealing with mental illness, with little knowledge and less experience, the answer as to how to handle the problem seemed to be to remove the mentally ill from society at large and isolate them in a controlled environment, in mental hospitals. These 'hospitals' were little more than warehouses, with abuse common.
In the mid-seventies, with the science of psychology barely 100 yrs. old, mental hospitals had changed little. This image is from that time.
Close to fifty years on now, the science of psychology has matured significantly and, in the main, conditions such as these no longer exist. I've chosen not to identify the facility where this image was taken as it would serve little purpose now beyond shaming. I never knew the patient's name; I trust that his isolation is now over.
Originally shot on B&W negative film.
Black & White Spider Awards: 3rd Place - Honor of Distinction in Photojournalism - 2023; Beauty of Madness exhibition, Praxis Gallery, St. Paul, MN - 2022
A young boy sits alone in a state hospital ward, bound at the wrist to a chair.
Early in 'modern' society's dealing with mental illness, with little knowledge and less experience, the answer as to how to handle the problem seemed to be to remove the mentally ill from society at large and isolate them in a controlled environment, in mental hospitals. These 'hospitals' were little more than warehouses, with abuse common.
In the mid-seventies, with the science of psychology barely 100 yrs. old, mental hospitals had changed little. This image is from that time.
Close to fifty years on now, the science of psychology has matured significantly and, in the main, conditions such as these no longer exist. I've chosen not to identify the facility where this image was taken as it would serve little purpose now beyond shaming. I never knew the patient's name; I trust that his isolation is now over.
Originally shot on B&W negative film.
Black & White Spider Awards: 3rd Place - Honor of Distinction in Photojournalism - 2023; Beauty of Madness exhibition, Praxis Gallery, St. Paul, MN - 2022