Hidden behind the decayed buildings and no trespassing signs lies a painful and gruesome history of thousands of forgotten souls. Over the past hundred years, thousands upon thousands of patient in Mental Institutions have died from neglect and malpractice. Spending the last hours of their days feeling isolated and rejected only to be tossed into a unnamed cremation canister or graves that never left the grounds, even to this day. The mentally ill are still left in the shadows of loneliness and despair with very little acknowledgment. I created these pieces in honor of their memory. No person should have to die alone and then be tossed into the afterlife nameless. Each piece represents a different treatment used in mental institutions. Each number signifies medical amounts and the people who suffered through them. 30,000 feet of rope, for the women tied together on Blackwell Island. The 10,000 straps of leather represent the patients who were tied down to various beds and machines. 12 needles, the amount of insulin injected into a patient in one day. 15 feet arms on a strait jacket, for the people who were named to different to be hugged by anyone other than themselves. Lobotomy needles on a canvas, a 12min art piece. 12 minutes, the amount of time it takes to break through patients numbing them for life. Finally, the revised architecture plan for what the institution should and could have been if the world shared kindness instead of cruelty for the different. This piece is in honor of the people who died, may their souls rest knowing that their struggles were shared, and they are being remembered and loved today.
