Salem, Oregon, 1976
Ellen Mark’s “Ward 81”. This photo from the series is one of the less obvious disturbing images, however captures the feeling of the whole series in a really nice way. If this was book with a cover I would choose this photo as the cover because it is a window into these women’s lives in the hospital and through their eyes. We the viewer and the photographer are on the outside and only seeing a small portion of their experiences. The subject is only a pair of eyes looking directly at the camera and seems disturbed or scared by the tilt of her head and furrowed eyebrows. She is also clearly young like so many of the subjects shown and could be a scene from a school or in a less sinister environment however with the context and lighting it is clearly sad and there is a feeling of hopelessness at not being able to help.