Yiorgos Depollas

The Asylum series includes photographs from the Leros psychiatric hospital which the photographer visited once in 1982. In the brief time he was allowed a visitor’s permit, he tried to record the condition of the inmates, in their absolute neglect and institutionalisation, in a space that was reminiscent more of a souls repository than a hospital. In the late 80s the hospital was denounced by British and Dutch media and this led to a reaction that brought about the beginning of an attempt for de-institutionalisation.