‘Women we might have been’: sisters and psychiatric wards – in pictures

These two breathtaking shows by women artists – one shot in Oregon State hospital, the other a collaboration between siblings – helped challenge the photographic establishment

Main image: Nuanced and compelling … Mona and Beth in the shower, Ward 81, Oregon State hospital, US, 1976. Photograph: Mary Ellen Mark/Courtesy of The Mary Ellen Mark Foundation/Howard Greenberg Gallery

  • Laurie in the Ward 81 Bathtub, Oregon State Hospital, Salem, 1976

    Currently on show at CPW in Kingston, New York, is Mary Ellen Mark’s Ward 81. The celebrated American photographer was known for documentary photography and portraiture that captured moments of vulnerability and resilience. Her work often focused on marginalised individuals and communities, including homeless young people, mental-health patients and sex workers. The show runs at CPW, Kingston, New York, until 4 May
    Laurie in the Ward 81 bathtub, Oregon State Hospital, Salem, 1976First show @ CPW: Mary Ellen Mark: Ward 81 all running at CPW January 18-May 4, 2025

  • The Cast of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Posing, Oregon State Hospital, Salem, 1974

    In 1975, while photographing on the set of the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Mary Ellen Mark met several women who lived on Ward 81 of the film’s location, the Oregon State Hospital in Salem
    The Cast of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Posing, Oregon State Hospital, Salem, 1974In 1975, while photographing on the set of the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Mary Ellen Mark(American, 1940–2015) met several women who lived on Ward 81 of the film’s location, the Oregon StateHospital in Salem.

  • Mona and Beth in the Shower, Ward 81, Oregon State Hospital, Salem, 1976

    One year later, Mark returned to the high-security psychiatric facility with writer and licensed therapist Dr Karen Folger Jacobs to document life on the ward through photographs and recorded interviews. This image inspired the sleeve of Lady Gaga’s Harlequin album
    Mona and Beth in the shower, Ward 81, Oregon State Hospital, Salem, 1976

  • Mona, 1976

    Jacobs said: ‘They are the women we might have been or one day become’
    Mona, 1976Jacobs and Mark lived in the hospital for thirty-six days, ultimatelyproducing a nuanced and compelling record of the daily realities of the female patients, including theirprivate thoughts, intimate interactions, and intense medical treatments. Jacobs said,“They are thewomen we might have been or one day become.”As the U.S. premiere of this project, CPW’s presentation brings together never-before-seen prints, contactsheets, archival materials, and Moonlight Heaven Black, a short film made by Martin Bell, Mark’shusband, to be incorporated into the exhibition. It was organized by curators Gaëlle Morel and KaitlinBooher for the Image Centre, Toronto, in collaboration with the Mary Ellen Mark Foundation, New York.It is accompanied by the publication Ward 81: Voices by Mary Ellen Mark and Karen Folger Jacobs,edited by Martin Bell, Julia Bezgin, and Meredith Lue (Steidl, 2023).

  • Carol T in the Mirror, 1976

    Jacobs and Mark lived in the hospital for 36 days, ultimately producing a nuanced and compelling record of the daily realities of the female patients, including their private thoughts, intimate interactions and intense medical treatments
    Carol T. in the Mirror, 1976, and Moonlight Heaven Black, a short film made by Martin Bell, Mark’s husband, to be incorporated into the exhibition. It is accompanied by the publication Ward 81: Voices by Mary Ellen Mark and Karen Folger Jacobs, edited by Martin Bell, Julia Bezgin, and Meredith Lue (Steidl, 2023).

  • Verla in Her Room, Ward 81, Salem, Oregon, 1976

    For the US premiere of this project, CPW brings together never-before-seen prints, contact sheets, archival materials and Moonlight Heaven Black, a short film made by Martin Bell, Mark’s husband
    Verla in her room, Ward 81, Salem, Oregon, 1976As the U.S. premiere of this project, CPW’s presentation brings together never-before-seen prints, contact sheets, archival materials

  • Mona with Michael Douglas’s Picture, Ward 81, Salem, Oregon, 1976

    It is accompanied by the publication Ward 81: Voices by Mary Ellen Mark and Karen Folger Jacobs, edited by Martin Bell, Julia Bezgin and Meredith Lue. It was published by Steidl in 2023
    Mona with Michael Douglas’s picture, Ward 81, Salem, Oregon, 1976It is accompanied by the publication Ward 81: Voices by Mary Ellen Mark and Karen Folger Jacobs, edited by Martin Bell, Julia Bezgin, and Meredith Lue (Steidl, 2023).

  • Composition With Ball, 1990

    A second show running at CPW is My Sister, My Self by photographers Colleen Kenyon and Kathleen Kenyon, curated by Tom Wolf and Laurie Dahlberg
    Composition with Ball, 1990In first exhibition My Sister, My Self:Photographs by Colleen Kenyon and Kathleen Kenyon Curated by Tom Wolf and Laurie Dahlberg

  • Colleen and Kathleen, Shady, New York, 1979

    During the 1970s and 80s, the two photographers were part of the movement of female artists who challenged the photographic establishment with innovative approaches to the medium
    Colleen and Kathleen, Shady, New York - August 1979

  • Kathleen, Minnewaska, New York, January 1977

    Colleen Kenyon was a pioneer in using hand colouring to enhance her portraits of herself and her sister in domestic settings. You can read more about her work here
    Kathleen, Minnewaska, New York, January 1977Colleen Kenyon was a pioneer in using hand coloring to enhance her portraits of herself and her sister in domestic settings;read more in the New Year big picture https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/dec/29/the-big-picture-colleen-kenyon-kathleen-new-year-portrait-of-her-twin-sister-1977

  • Colleen and Kathleen, Shady, New York, December, 1979

    Beginning in 1981, the two sisters also served as directors of the Center for Photography at Woodstock (now the CPW in Kingston, New York), where they continued to advocate for the advancement of women in the arts and for artists of colour
    Colleen and Kathleen, Shady, New York - December, 1979Beginning in 1981, the two sisters also served as directors of the Center for Photography at Woodstock, where they continued to advocate for the advancement of women in the arts and for artists of color.

  • Colleen and Kathleen, Phoenicia, New York, August, 1978

    As CPW’s executive director from 1981 to 2003, Colleen Kenyon grew the fledgling alternative space into an internationally recognised cultural centre. She championed the concerns of women artists, focused the CPW’s mission on contemporary fine art photography and, in 1999, inaugurated Woodstock AIR, a residency program for artists of colour. In 2004, Colleen was the recipient of the inaugural CPW Vision award with her sister Kathleen
    Colleen and Kathleen, Phoenicia, New York - August 1978

  • Untitled, from the series Sacred Children, 1979-1981

    In 1982, Kathleen joined her sister Colleen at CPW as associate director. Kathleen was adept at appropriating gender-specific images of women from the mass media to create ironic photomontages
    Untitled, from the series “Sacred Children”, 1979-1981

  • Untitled, circa 1995

    My Sister, My Self: Photographs by Colleen Kenyon and Kathleen Kenyon is accompanied by a limited edition 180-page hardcover catalogue, published by Wolf and Dahlberg
    © Kathleen KenyonMy Sister, My Self: Photographs by Colleen Kenyon and Kathleen Kenyon is accompanied by a limited edition 180-page hardcover catalog, My Sister, My Self: Photographs by Colleen Kenyon and Kathleen Kenyon by Wolf and Dahlberg (CPW, 2025).
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