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Leros
The Greek island of Leros was for 20 years and more the site of the world's most notorious and brutal asylum for the insane. The Magnum photographer Alex Majoli has chronicled its inmates and their return to a sane world and integration into society, the work of the famed Italian psychiatrist Franco Basaglia. Leros raises a number of questions. How could such a regime have existed? And how could anyone have survived it? This book was given the Judges' Special Recognition in the best books category of the International Pictures of the Year Awards 2003 and included in the PDN Photography Annual 2003 in the best books category.
112 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2004
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October 23, 2011
Very interesting photographic study of an asylum undergoing significant changes. Majoli talks about the horrific conditions at the asylum and the changes implemented to improve things, as well as the struggles that that entailed.
It would have been nice to have a better idea of the time frame of the pictures -- there are very brief descriptions, but it is often not clear whether photographs were taken before the restructuring or during it. (Being a word person, of course I wanted more words...) At the same time, I wonder at the choice to use only black backgrounds -- on the one hand, yes, it helps convey the bleakness of life in the asylum; on the other hand, it's really just a trick. Many of the pictures are strong enough to carry impact on their own.
It would have been nice to have a better idea of the time frame of the pictures -- there are very brief descriptions, but it is often not clear whether photographs were taken before the restructuring or during it. (Being a word person, of course I wanted more words...) At the same time, I wonder at the choice to use only black backgrounds -- on the one hand, yes, it helps convey the bleakness of life in the asylum; on the other hand, it's really just a trick. Many of the pictures are strong enough to carry impact on their own.
Displaying 1 of 1 review