Until May 31, the former psychiatric hospital San Niccolò in Siena is hosting a multimedia exhibition, The Village of the Excluded: Faces and Stories of the Siena Asylum.
Housed in the complex’s church, the show features work by Lombard artist Giovanni Sesia, who aimed to ‘bring the names and stories of the forgotten to the public.’ A central theme of Sesia’s work is the universality of suffering, which is particularly clear in two larger works portraying dozens of patients from other hospitals and institutions. Sesia’s interest in San Niccolò and in exploring mental health began when he came across a photo archive in 1998. For the current exhibition, he combined archived photographs with written documents to craft reconstructions of San Niccolò’s faces. The materials he relied on included medical records and registries dating back as far as 1748. Citing concerns for patient privacy, Sesia only used photographs from the early 20th century, though the institution’s closure was not until 1999. Along with the portraits, which make up the bulk of the exhibition, there are audio elements and a video installation. The exhibition is part of a series of events highlighting San Niccolò’s history, including panel discussions, exhibitions, film screenings and book presentations.
See details (in Italian) on the exhibition and other events at theflr.net/do7e44.
