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Thread: Australias oldest lunatic asylum
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12th June 2016, 08:06 PM #1GOLD MEMBER
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Australias oldest lunatic asylum
Willow Court.
This place opened in 1830 and closed down in 2000. However there has been an art show going on here since Thursday. While you were not allowed to take pictures of the artworks or the artist you were allowed to take pictures of the buildings. Most of these ones are from ward C for the criminally insane. The place is usually locked up these days and only visited by scores of possums (there is pooh everywhere) and young vandals. Part of the deal of the art show was that visitors had to take a mirror and leave it there somewhere. So that explains mirrors in some of the pictures.
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12th June 2016, 08:32 PM #2GOLD MEMBER
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A few more...
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12th June 2016, 10:12 PM #3
Kind of scary and creepy
I didn't really feel comfortable looking at the pics
I can't explain it but just didn't fit well
Cheers Matt
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12th June 2016, 10:25 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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Yes Simplicity I know what you mean, in fact I think everyone who went to the particular art show thought along the same lines. It was really interesting observing other people who were there and the reactions.
This place pre-dated the notorious "Port Arthur" prison and would have housed many inmates from there who went round the bend from the cruel conditions. It goes back to the convict days our country was built upon. Really it should be heritage listed. In time folk will wonder what on earth people were thinking to have treated mad people like that when there will probably be drugs to fix any mental condition in a jiffy.
Walking through the C block it was hard to imagine any of the inmates would have ever got out to lead a normal life.
On the bright side, the particular asylum was ahead of the game by closing down and sort of admitting that institutionalising people was not the go.
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12th June 2016, 10:28 PM #5
I think what was is hard for me was the poor inmates
Twisted souls
Poor things
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12th June 2016, 10:53 PM #6GOLD MEMBER
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To go on a bit. This place was huge, there were nurses quarters, doctors quarters, invalid quarters etc,etc. I could not guess how many acres the site consists of. Many of the buildings have been destroyed.
More pics.... A couple of them are from the information boards.
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12th June 2016, 10:57 PM #7GOLD MEMBER
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12th June 2016, 11:04 PM #8
Yes all to true
It's things we would rather not see or talk about.
But unfortunately these places did and still do for a reason exist
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13th June 2016, 12:03 AM #9GOLD MEMBER
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There are murder shows on every night on television. People thrive on the stuff. It gets the ratings.Plus worse things we don'[t hear about in real life.
It was not my art show. I only took pics of the buildings. But surely photography is meant to convey a message of sorts. Was hoping to do just that.
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13th June 2016, 06:30 AM #10
You've got some very interesting and poignant photos there.
Not to everyone's taste I'm sure.
But thought provoking never the less.
Have you considered changing some of the shots to B/W.
The last three in particular would come up very well with higher contrast and a little sharpening.
Making for an even colder more stark image.
On a similar note.
While driving around a few months ago I came across a collection of toys and flowers on the side of the road.
They obviously marked the sight of a tragedy sometime in the past.
The collection of objects was weathered and tattered from time and the elements.
It made for a very emotional image.
Although I took the shot and have since printed it in B/W, I would never display the image in public.
I personally think it's one of the best photographs I've ever taken from an artistic standpoint.
However the effect it could have on those with a personal connection to the event far outweighs any value it has as art.
Sometimes art and sensibility can make for very strange bed fellows!.
But at the same time an interesting discussion!.
Cheers
Trev.
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13th June 2016, 10:19 AM #11
Thank you for your photos.
In response to Simplicity's post I always tread lightly and be mindful where I park in NSW mental health institutions as there are many un marked graves. Cumberland hospital will soon be sold off and redeveloped it will no doubt reveal some of this history.
i appreciate that there were those that undertook dastardly deeds but early mental institutions were also a social dragnet for the poor and the forgotten. Remember the approach was to hide the misfits from society. It is observed that some staff whilst not all may have been as dastardly as some of the patients.
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13th June 2016, 11:09 AM #12
Being such a large property it will probably just continue to fall into disrepair and never be suitable for other uses. Unfortunately it would be very hard to find an organisation big enough to make good use of the premises.
The staff quarters look very stately but I assume it will go the same way as the rest.
Interesting how all the window sills on the inside are rounded. I assume that is so the inmates could not get a foot hold to get up to the windows.
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8th July 2016, 09:15 PM #13
Even with what folk have said, it'd be a very interesting historical place to walk around; I'd place in a similar category to that of Port Arthur....
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10th July 2016, 07:02 PM #14GOLD MEMBER
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It was an interesting place to walk around and left you with a lingering aftertaste. In fact it seemed more brutal than Port Arthur to me.
Perhaps I should have realised this is a woodworking forum not an art forum and photographs posted here should be of a completely non confrontational nature. Judging from replies.
On the other hand, thousands and thousands of people went to the art show that was on there that particular weekend and I reckon it had an impact on a good percentage of folk who went. There were no cries of protest in the local newspapers afterwards.
Guess it depends what photography is all about?.
It was actually a subject when I was studying art at Uni and reckon it still would be.
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11th July 2016, 12:03 PM #15
The feelings that I have after looking at the photos is of rebuilding and cleaning up the site.
There will always be some place that has been abandoned and left to decay as the original use would have changed etc. This seems to be the case with this building.
I am not sure on the particular type of art that that might have been on display. If it was a similar theme as to the building/location or a contrast. It would take a very powerful piece to provoke a sense of happiness in such a location.
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