Shocking work of Ukrainian photographer living in a psychiatric hospital

Ukrainian photographer Stepan Rudik with the permission of the management spent time in mental hospital and look at those there.

Stepan Rudik was born 6 December 1982 in Izmail (Odessa region). He graduated from the Kiev national University of culture and arts majoring in "art of photography". Coverage takes, portraits, genre picture. A member of the Union of photographers of Ukraine and Russia. The winner of the Grand Prix of international competitions, scholarship holder of the Polish National cultural center Gaude Polonia in 2010.

Special problems with clients I have not encountered. I immediately became friends with a patient of my age, he is almost constantly beside me as a guard.

First, though, all shied away from me, but on the second day began to get used to me and to the camera.

At some point you start to doubt your sanity, but I had a camera and he became my bridge to the ordinary world. It's amazing how a small piece of metal to the glass, and what effect!

For me, documentary photography — get involved in the events, observation without direction, though the man with the camera just with his appearance is change reality.

Of course, I was scared to stay the night in the ward with patients (I wanted to completely immerse in the subject) and it's even scarier to Wake up.

I remember when I woke up, the first thing I saw is how the patient is washed MOP the walls.

I in any case did not want to humiliate the dignity of the human person with his photos, and I had no goals to show under what conditions are and live patients. "Others" is the project monitoring.

When we see one that is hidden by civilized Nations hospitals for the mentally ill, we look down at him. We think this will never happen. We hide behind their own ignorance and indifference.

This psychiatric hospital is located in the former prison of the NKVD. For it is the only city with a hundred thousand population hospital; next to hospital, to the right is a hall; to the left is a prison, also the only game in town. And in the center of this triangle — it is.

I don't want to tell the stories of patients and the reasons they are there — that is their own. We must not forget that the photographer is responsible for every inch in your photo. I can only say that today more than half of the patients that I photographed, are already long dead (the project was filmed in 2006. — Approx. ed.).