Artist's Statement - Death of an Institution

Back to exhibition

Hospitals, and perhaps particularly psychiatric hospitals, are places of emotions and contradictions: of fear, security, powerlessness, healing and despair, of light and dark.

Institutionalised psychiatric care is in decline, due to current trends, economics and changing public attitudes. This has meant that many of the old hospital buildings are empty, waiting for demolition or conversion for other uses.

I visited 10 of these hospitals around the country, taking photographs of what I saw and hearing a few stories on the way. Most of the buildings stood as they were left, remnants of their former lives plainly visible. Many had been neglected and vandalised.

These hospitals were home to many people over the years. They are a part of our social history and we need to remember them and to acknowledge the experiences of the people who spent time in them.

Later, I interviewed people who had lived and worked in some of the places I went to. Their stories, together with the images, are collected in a book, which I hope to get published.

Clare Goodwin, 2002