Romania: Insane Asylum

The mental asylum in Romania was a warehouse for the mentally insane, the physically handicapped and even for some Christian pastors that had been drugged into insanity during the dark years of Ceaucescu's reign of terror. A year after his assassination, little had been done to help those closeted away in the mountains of Transylvania. I felt overwhelmed. What could I do? I decided to do portraits of as many patients as I could. They couldn't leave, but I could at least let others see in.

The language barrier really wasn't a hindrance; we had translators. The problem was, that for most of the patients, their minds were not in the same building we were. They were living a life outside the dreary and dirty rooms where they were housed.

If you would like to see more photos in a Quicktime Movie, click Romania.

(24mm lens, f2.8)