[Image: From Library of Dust by David Maisel, published by Chronicle Books]
This is a canister filled with human. Crazy human.
Sounds strange, looks strange = is strange. And somehow beautiful and disgusting.
The backstory is this; before WWI an Oregon state psychiatric institution (where they filmed Cuckoos Nest no less) cremated the corpses of patients that died but that nobody came to collect. They decided to store the ashes in copper canisters, one per patient, so they still had something to present to what ever relative that decided to show up. Or maybe just because even those deemed mad by society deserved some (although somewhat twisted) dignity in death.
[Image: From Library of Dust by David Maisel, published by Chronicle Books]
What photographer David Maisel really has captured transcends merely moldy metal cans. What he has done, is to bring these terribly sad human stories to light. They have a chance one final time to be beautiful in a way. The chemicals in their ashes reacting with the copper and surrounding air, drawing maps of their instanity.
[Image: From Library of Dust by David Maisel, published by Chronicle Books]
More: Bldgblog, David Maisel, David Maisel Library of Dust, Amazon.com Book link, Wikipedia for Oregon State Hospital
