Tag: mental illness

For a woman, at the border, the sense that no one can comprehend the extent and intensity of her suffering is an understandable consequence of the sense of never having been known. She is saying to those around her, not ‘I want you to suffer as I have suffered,’ but “it is through my pain you shall know me.’

Dana Becker, Through the Looking Glass

Anne Ferran, “1-38”

“1-38 begins with a study of departmental health records and photographs from a women’s mental asylum in mid-twentieth century Sydney. Rather than re-photographing the images in their entirety, Anne decided to crop in, focusing on the gesture of the hands, the area of the torso, and most importantly, keeping the identity of each woman concealed. What results is a sequence of body movements, where each hand emotes anxiety, anger and stillness, sometimes clutching at one’s clothes, or making gestures of self-protection.”

–Lisa Blas