I stumbled across an image (on Pinterest) showing a group of tormented looking men, huddled together, in what looked like a cell of some description. I glanced at the text underneath and saw the words ‘World War 2’ and instantly assumed that this was a holocaust image. It was only after reading on further, that I learned that this image had been taken in a mental hospital in the U.S. I saw a certain irony in that the Americans liberated the surviving prisoners in the concentration camps in Europe, yet were keeping mentally ill, vulnerable Americans in similar conditions.
My earlier assumption, that the image was of a concentration camp, made me consider the importance of titling the painting. I’m considering calling it ‘1945’ just to see if it pushes people to a similar conclusion. if I call it ‘Asylum’ it would be interesting to see if people associate the image with the U.S.
