Saturday, 3 December 2011
Chartham Mental Asylum Evaluation
After my two days at Chartham I am very happy with my photographs. Despite the nerves, I'd love to go back for another visit. I think my photos show exactly what I wanted them to; a dirty, dark, derelict hospital, which once upon a time would have been clean and full of life. A modern hospital has to be extremely clean with constant changes in order to keep up to date and treat patients with the best care. My photos completely contradict the rules of cleanliness in a clinical environment. Advances to technology and healthcare left St Augustine's unfit for purpose so the doors were closed on it and it was left to rot. As a result, what would have been a highly ordered place is now in complete chaos, which is shown in my images. Order is still visible in some of my photographs, for instance the curtain tracks marking out bed bays on the ward although this is overwhelmed by decomposition. The building has gained a new purpose as a result of its decay; almost a museum, people want to see old asylums and hospitals as curiosity drives us into such places. Not only has St Augustine's become an 'Urban Explorers' paradise, a graffiti artists blank canvas but also a playground for anyone who visits; everyone makes their own experience which has turned it into a place with no rules and regulations, contradicting the buildings original purpose. To some people this may appear as chaos and to others simply beauty in decay?
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Chartham Mental Asylum
The closest derelict hospital I found was Chartham Mental Asylum, also known as St Augustine's which shut in 1993. This was my starting point.
I researched on the internet, but a lot of the information contradicted from page to page. This website was as close to what I needed to know as I could find:
http://www.urbexforums.co.uk/showthread.php/9875-St.-Augustine-s-Hospital-Chartham-Downs-August-2010
I also talked to a friend who worked at St Augustine's for a few years before it shut, she sent me some notes from her student nursing course and research she had to do about the history of St Augustines, she also told me about her personal experiences whilst working there. From what I understand from the notes, in the early days of this asylum being open, it wasn't a nice place be, patients were mistreated and various therapies were used and abused, fortunately changes were made and things improved. I have chosen not to put these notes into my blog as they are personal experiences, but she was happy to tell me as she understood I wanted to build an image in my head that not so long ago, this building was full of life and people were very sad to see it being closed down, especially patients who had lived there for best parts of their life.
Off we went!!...
As soon as I finished work on a Saturday afternoon, off we went! It took us a while to find, but we eventually found what is left at the back of a housing estate and up a dirt track. As we circled the building, fear rushed my body; it was the ugliest, darkest, dirties building I had ever seen. The stories that the building itself must hold! What had actually gone on in there? The thought of nobody ever knowing made it even scarier. Eventually we came to a huge gap in the fence where it had been pulled down. It felt wrong. We were clearly breaking an entry, the fence was put there for a reason, no matter what people had said on the website. At the same time it felt right, it was my unit to complete and as my view on modern life was "We can't make our own choices any more", I chose to enter.
After finding our way in and walking straight through a kicked down door, we explored! I was a nervous wreck but what an amazing place to take a collection of photos just like the book Beauty In Decay.
It was getting dark, so we decided to head home and return in the morning, armed with a torch and thick boots; I had never seen so much broken glass!!!
As we left, ideas came rushing to me, this was my starting point and I couldn't wait to get back in the morning!!!
These are my photos:
I researched on the internet, but a lot of the information contradicted from page to page. This website was as close to what I needed to know as I could find:
http://www.urbexforums.co.uk/showthread.php/9875-St.-Augustine-s-Hospital-Chartham-Downs-August-2010
I also talked to a friend who worked at St Augustine's for a few years before it shut, she sent me some notes from her student nursing course and research she had to do about the history of St Augustines, she also told me about her personal experiences whilst working there. From what I understand from the notes, in the early days of this asylum being open, it wasn't a nice place be, patients were mistreated and various therapies were used and abused, fortunately changes were made and things improved. I have chosen not to put these notes into my blog as they are personal experiences, but she was happy to tell me as she understood I wanted to build an image in my head that not so long ago, this building was full of life and people were very sad to see it being closed down, especially patients who had lived there for best parts of their life.
Off we went!!...
As soon as I finished work on a Saturday afternoon, off we went! It took us a while to find, but we eventually found what is left at the back of a housing estate and up a dirt track. As we circled the building, fear rushed my body; it was the ugliest, darkest, dirties building I had ever seen. The stories that the building itself must hold! What had actually gone on in there? The thought of nobody ever knowing made it even scarier. Eventually we came to a huge gap in the fence where it had been pulled down. It felt wrong. We were clearly breaking an entry, the fence was put there for a reason, no matter what people had said on the website. At the same time it felt right, it was my unit to complete and as my view on modern life was "We can't make our own choices any more", I chose to enter.
After finding our way in and walking straight through a kicked down door, we explored! I was a nervous wreck but what an amazing place to take a collection of photos just like the book Beauty In Decay.
It was getting dark, so we decided to head home and return in the morning, armed with a torch and thick boots; I had never seen so much broken glass!!!
As we left, ideas came rushing to me, this was my starting point and I couldn't wait to get back in the morning!!!
These are my photos:
Practice shots
I didn't know what I was going to be faced with at these derelict asylums, the last thing I wanted was to be wasting time playing with my camera, getting useless photos and having to risk going back another day, when I wasn't meant to be there in the first place.
These practice shots were done at college, as it was the only institution I had instant access to, rather than wasting studio time, I could be shooting!! This also became a back up plan in case I couldn't get access anywhere else.
I used a timer setting and played with exposure time, etc before setting the camera up on the tripod. The photos were all in doorways as I think this represents how you will never know what you will meet on the other side and the tension that builds up when you open a doorway to the unknown.
Despite not being overly happy with these shots, I am glad I did them before turning up at any asylums.
Here is one of my practice shots:
These practice shots were done at college, as it was the only institution I had instant access to, rather than wasting studio time, I could be shooting!! This also became a back up plan in case I couldn't get access anywhere else.
I used a timer setting and played with exposure time, etc before setting the camera up on the tripod. The photos were all in doorways as I think this represents how you will never know what you will meet on the other side and the tension that builds up when you open a doorway to the unknown.
Despite not being overly happy with these shots, I am glad I did them before turning up at any asylums.
Here is one of my practice shots:
Preparation And Practice
After reading reports on the 28 days later forum, I decided that to do this properly, I would need to prepare thoroughly, finding out exactly where these asylums are, whether or not I would actually be able to get inside but most importantly practising using my camera in the institution environment...using a tripod, long exposures (as I knew these places could be quite dark), black and white effects, etc. The last thing I wanted was to be in these empty buildings not knowing what I was doing with my camera, and being in there longer than I had to be. College was the most obvious place to start practising, as it was an institution that I had access to, it also filled the days of waiting for access with something useful.
Beauty In Decay by RomanyWG
My boyfriend recommended this book to me after discussing my project with him, after looking through the images by various amateur photographers, I was both inspired and given ideas for the types of photos I wished to produce in derelict buildings.
Here are some of my favourites from the book:
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