Example of a small black and white shot taken by the facility of a patient upon arrival and prior to release. The left image is labeled ammalati (sick) and the right, guariti (cured).

The facility provided art therapy for those interested in partaking. Pictured are examples of some of the work created by residents. These were actually quite small - the head looked to be the size of a small doll head. Unfortunately, we don’t know anything about the artist.

“We murder to dissect.” The Tables Turned by William Wordsworth

The Museum of Madness archives the history of the Venetian Sanitorium from 1725-1978. Photographically capturing patients upon arrival and release, these images were labeled ammalati (sick) and guariti (cured). I commemorated one young woman through painting her likeness. A mask based on a piece of artwork created by one of the convalescents is placed a few inches in front of her obscuring her face, acting as a partition between her realm and ours. Excavating the messiness of a mental dis-order, there may be glimmers of meaning and beauty unfathomable to the rest of us.

The mask has often been used in rituals to communicate with the dead. I want to reconsider this access granted by mask wearing alongside the possible access to other realms possessed by those with mental health issues. I am even attempting to break this barrier by finding a way of communing with this young woman who passed away long ago.

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