Ward 81 by Mary Ellen Mark

Photographs by Mary Ellen Mark. Text by Karen Folger Jacobs and Into by Milos Forman.

In the unblinking compassion of her camera, the faces in this book reflect the kaleidoscope of human emotion - bewilderment, love, pain and even a light-hearted mimicry of the contorted mask we call madness. In February 1976, Mary Ellen Mark was given permission to live on Ward 81 for 36 days at the Oregon State Hospital. Ward 81 was a high security ward for women considered dangerous to themselves and others. Her aim was not to document the problems of mental illness or tell a story but to help the women make contact with the outside world by letting them reach out and present themselves.

“We identified with the fragility and the strength of these women we came to love, these adopted sisters of ours. They are the women we might have been, women we might one day become.”

Published in 1979. Softback. 96 pages. Very good condition.