This research is focused on a picture taken by the British photographer and doctor Hugh Welch Diamond, who documented his own patients of the Female Department of the Surrey County Lunatic Asylum with a series of portraits.
Diamond described himself as a photographer who "catches in a moment the permanent cloud, or the passing storm or sunshine of the soul, and thus enables the metaphysician to witness and trace out the connexion between the visible and the invisible.”
These image gave me in some way an answer and a sense of awakening from a torpid dream into a rough reality. It’s funny that in the past we needed to try to find a way to label insanity as a way to prove a point to society.
But what if we just don’t care anymore? Keep our insanity “active” in some way is a goal rather than something to avoid at any cost.The state of emergency we are constantly in, keeps up always alert and hopeless. We don’t know what or who to fight to get some peace of mind.
So, what we can bring with us into the future? The artwork reveals the state of mind, where I created a virtual “wall” that speaks on the background of the subject. The aim of this piece is to “release” frustration in order to move forward into a hopeful future.
Side note
Ms. Lauryn Hill’s album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 was a revealing element that completed the puzzle of this research. During the live the artist highlights in a candid and touching way her mental health struggles, and her way to overcome difficult times just “releasing all out”. The fact that it’s ok to feel crazy sometimes, makes us feel more connected than we can imagine. The walls on the background are also decorated with lyrics from Hill's song "Ex-Factor".
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