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Jenn Ackerman Feature Video

I have just watched this video and it has inspired me with my approach when speaking to mentally ill people. i found it very knowledgeable. 

http://ackermangruber.com/trapped/feature/

Jenn Ackerman's Series 'Trapped'

i have recently just found a very interesting series to me, an inspiration towards my work. Jenn Ackerman's series is all about how she photographed the inmates of a reformatory in the usa, all inmates with mental illness.


“To accurately portray the reality of living with mental illness for prisoners in an effort to call attention to the increased imprisonment of the mentally ill in the US” is the stated goal of Jenn Ackerman’s series Trapped.

Ackerman began photographing inside Kentucky State Reformatory in 2008. Over the course of her time there she gained trust of the inmates and guards and unprecedented access to their facility and procedure. The resulting series is a stunning look inside the experience of the mentally ill shuffled through a prison system not equipped to withstand, care for, or rehabilitate them. A system in dire need of attention and reform.* 

*Source beautifuldecay.com

Mental health wards at Medway maritime hospital to close

Plans to shut the mental health crisis block at Medway Maritime Hospital have been approved.

The ageing 35-bed A Block at the Gillingham hospital is set to close within 12 months, with provision being increased in Canterbury, Dartford and Maidstone.

Kent County Council's NHS overview and scrutiny committee approved the closure put forward by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) yesterday.

It was told the number of inpatient beds will increase from 160 to 174, with some of the money saved from A Block's closure being spent on increased community services.

The decision follows a public consultation last year into the way services should be provided locally, which included specific concerns about the poor quality environment at Medway's A Block and the need to find new accommodation as soon as possible.

This is an article i found on the Kent Online website about the closure of a mental health ward closing at the Medway maritime hospital in Gillingham.

Concept

I want within my project to explore the relationship between mental illness and how well the NHS was treating their patients in the Medway area,looking into background information and exploring in depth the underlining issues and exploring the reviews and following close case studies. I wanted to see whether the closure of a mental illness ward was a good idea or not and turn my project into a documentary on hospitals and wards in the Medway area, following a boy called Tom through his journey living with Schizophrenia. I would like to show how the lack of support in the Medway area is affecting the patients and how the closure of a mental illness ward is Gillingham has closed making the patients feel uneasy and isolated.

Living with Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a challenging disorder that makes it difficult to distinguish between what is real and unreal, think clearly, manage emotions, relate to others, and function normally. But that doesn't mean there isn't hope. Schizophrenia can be successfully managed. The first step is to identify the signs and symptoms. The second step is to seek help without delay and the third is to stick with the treatment. With the right treatment and support, a person with schizophrenia can lead a happy, fulfilling life. 

Body Shoot B&W in studio

 

Here i have scanned in one of my negatives into the computer and have changed the levels on photoshop.This is Tom, i contacted him after i found out he has mild schizophrenia. My camera setting for this photo were 1/125, iso 400 and f/5.6. i dodged and burned this image whilst it was in photoshop to slightly highlight his cheeks and eyes to add an extra punch to the image. I could improve this image by trying different angles and camera lighting to suggest a different mood, i could try getting the model to try different poses to give a different feel to the overall photograph. 

Schizophrenia and mental illness in Medway- research

Schizophrenia in Medway

Adults with mental health problems are one of the most socially excluded groups in society. A National Survey conducted by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimates that one in four adults will experience some form of mental health problems at some point in their lives. There are two main categories of mental illness:

  

§  ‘common mental illness’ [Depression, Anxiety] prevalence estimate is 1-4 (from National Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, Meltzer 2001). 

§  ‘severe and enduring mental illness’. [schizophrenia (psychosis) and bi-polar disorder.](prevalence is 3 per 1000, Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry).

People with mental illness experience higher rates of morbidity and have a lower life expectancy then those without mental illness. People with chronic physical health problems are also more likely to experience mental health problems.

Mental health problems impact on individuals, families, communities and society as a whole, with immense social and financial costs. Mental health problems contribute a higher percentage of total disability adjusted life years in the UK than any other chronic illness (26.6% in 2004, compared to CVD 16.2%, cancer 15.6% and respiratory illnesses 8.3%) (WHO 2009). Recent estimates put the full cost of mental health problems in England at £105.2 billion, the majority due to the negative impact on the quality of life for individuals with mental health problems (Centre for Mental Health 2010). Mental illness accounts for about 11% of total NHS spend. *

*Source from Kent and Medway public health observatory. 

Schizophrenia or is a mental disorder characterized by problems with thought processes and by poor emotional responses. Common symptoms are delusions including paranoia and auditory hallucinations, disorganized thinking reflected in speech, and a lack of emotional intelligence. It is accompanied by significant social or vocational dysfunction. The onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood, with a global lifetime prevalence of about 0.3–0.7%. Diagnosis is based on observed behavior and the patient's reported experiences.*

*Source Wikipedia.

Thomas Struth and Imogen Cunningham - Compare and Contrast

     After looking into  Thomas Struth and Imogen Cunningham i found some key comparisons between the two artists. Although the two artists mainly have taken portraits, the way in which the portraits have been set out are the same. Struth's photographs are of families in their natural environment and although the photographs may not have been set up i get a feeling that it is slightly posed and not so natural. With Imogen's photographers i feel a sense of feminism and softness within the images and the ever increasing love for the body as an art form interests me. 
     Struth's photographers give the viewer an inside to the working lives of the particular families and give a greater scope of how these people live and it is very personal to these people.he uses the use of natural lighting in most cases which highlights the faces in a nicer softer manner in some ways making it look most realistic and the environment looks more homely. He gives clues within the image to highlight with country the photographers were taken and it really gives an insite to the way these people live, for example how wealthy the family is and also how close the family are. Similar to some of  Imogen Cunningham photographs they are of families too and after finding a particular image call 'Brinton family 1930's' i discovered the intimacy between the family portrait with the family members looking at each other and also like Struth with natural lighting from outside. This technique gives a great fountain for a family portrait.
     Cunningham's portraits are all made with a B&W film camera in the 1910's-1950's which is different to Struth who made his body of work using mainly 10x8mm plate cameras although he has recently starting using digital cameras.The lighting and composition are somewhat similar within each artists work and the lighting used is the same but used to portray different effects on the viewer. Cunningham has also made some beautiful nude photographs which i find very interesting and she appreciates the body. 

My initial ideas

My initial ideas for the body unit is to look closer into the churches within medway and try to find out as much research as i can about the area and the churches history. I will look into previous painters and photographers who have photographed and studied the churches and try my best to produced images with meaning.