Many people have been and seen the Dark MOFO exhibition at Willow Court. What’s it all about, that’s a fair question to ask. People wonder if this is art or is it ART, is it a strange new breed of thought that little of us understand? Here are some thoughts;
People leave desperate for a drink. Needing to discuss the experience. Which was what it is. A guy in an derelict asylum. Living and drawing.
Was it exploitative? Tasteless? Should the history of pain, of madness be left alone? Or washed away and replaced with 1000 count sheets and a minibar? What IS this artwork exactly?
Mike Parr’s simple presence, his request for silence and his ‘price’ that each person leaves a mirror created for me a quiet ritual acknowledgement of this place and its people. A bridge from a difficult past of people doing the wrong thing believing it was the best thing into whatever future the people of New Norfolk can manifest for what is an amazing built environment in a very very pretty town.
Overtime the rooms will change. As more and more footprints tramp through the possum poo and the mirrors accrue, each mirror an avatar for that person or for another person who might have lived and worked there, the asylum will be re-populated.
It’s an example of how art, performance and participation can create change. In time Willow Court will bustle with commerce. But it couldn’t until the nature of the space has been altered. ASYLUM is an effective start to that process.
Which reminds us that other sites in Tasmania that have been held in silence, that are loci of pain can be gently not healed, not cleansed… but acknowledged. Simply and with respect. But as Leigh said at the launch. It isn’t cheap. And it isn’t entertainment.
Ryk Goddard.
I struggle with this on many levels, too many to express here. Much of it gets down to “respect and intent” of the artist. Mike Parr is interesting and always provocative. I always feel the need to understand intent with these types of performances. The site deserves ‘respect’ & I detest performances that demonize, I don’t think that was his intent.. This article clarified for me, where Mike Parr was working from. Click Here to Read
Janet Presser
As I laid in bed and listened to the rain, cuddled my life partner and thought how lucky I was that I didn’t have to mow the lawn I thought of Mike Parr. As a colleague did the 6 o’clock tour this morning at Willow Court she said that Mike is sleeping on the floor on a mattress and how unexciting that was to watch, maybe Mike’s art form was to really understand his brother’s state of mental health and is captured in a cell that he could walk free from at any time, but instead is living the mind of his brother Tim, the man who was know as, “the man who spoke to himself”. Mike didn’t have what I had this morning or the choice to mow the lawn or not to, instead he is locked away in his mind doing his art? If we sprinkle some therapeutic dust over that we the community and good intentioned health professional could consider that to be the best we can do. You all have a nice day, I know I will.
Mark Krause
When teaching at TAFE we took our students through these buildings as part of their understanding the history (recent) of disability services in this state. Voices stain the walls and corridors. A space and place of great survival and violence. I hope to go but my fear is whether the performance will capture the abuse and violence of that place. I worked with many people that survived it. I don’t know if their stories and memories will be captured and evoked. Will they again be silenced? And this time by “art” i acknowledge this may be an unfair post as i am yet to experience. I just remember supporting a woman who used to live there. We were driving to the shops and out of the blue she said “they used to make us take out our teeth they did” pardon, what I replied? “Before we had to suck their you know, suck their….down there” gap, space as i did not know what to say, …. ” can we get some ice cream for after dinner” Maybe I will leave my mirror for her? I don’t know what the mirror will catch that is all???
Dr Paul Levett
I also reported on a conversation I had with MONA Owner David Walsh this week.
Yesterday I heard a story about a 9 year old boy who’s family were visiting his uncle at the Royal Derwent Hospital 37 years ago and while standing near the road he explained that he could see a lady on the bridge over the Lachlan River. This is the river that runs through the hospital and divides it into the east and west sides of the hospital. He explained that he was on the east side and he wondered what this lady was doing on the bridge. He said that she was dressed in a nightie while standing on the bridge. He then told me how he then watched her climb up on the side and then jump from the bridge. He then went on to express to me how cathartic it was to be standing and looking at the same bridge 37 years later. I could see the impression that this deep memory had left this man during his childhood. Who was this man, it was David Walsh. After a discussion I believe he does understand the site’s history and some of the painful past that makes up that history. I was able to answer some of his questions about the different buildings and their previous uses. For those that don’t know David, he is the owner of MONA http://www.mona.net.au/ and the generous philanthropic person behind the current art installation (Mike Parr) at Willow Court.
8 Comments
I attended mofo on Thursday night and I can really say that I do not understand or appreciate this type of art I also do not appreciate the fact the way the institution is portrayed I worked there for a short time but while I worked there I witnessed only care respect and compassion for all the residents in every ward I was rostered to I am not niaeve enough to say that all staff employed at willow court acted this way but I will say that the majority of the staff would of been the most caring people you would wish to know but this could be said for every industry that employs a large number of people Not all can be good To work in this field you would have to be a special person as it asks a lot from everyone everyday These people where always clean well fed dressed and safe the floors where not covered in three inches of possum shit walls and ceilings falling down They were warm brightly painted and very clean because it was a hospital Please don’t take this as a lack of appreciation for this to be brought to our beautiful town as I am sure everyone who attended all the shop owners and the entire town enjoyed and are still enjoying Mofo and whilst I do not understand it at all I have done nothing but think or discuss it since attending so if that is your aim you have conquered it well and truly and i respect you for that I just wish you could show willow court for its good not bad
It took me a couple of days to ponder my thoughts to clarity. His previous works didn’t connect to the work that he was doing in A Ward. After reading what his intention was I believe he hit the mark.
Cheers
Mark
I was an employee at Willow Court for 28 years. I detest that people speak of violence & people in the hospital were treated badly. I am very proud to speak of my years of work there & over those years I worked with mostly very professional, loving, caring staff who dedicated there life to giving the people they cared for the best quality of life. The people who are judging & slandering probably never seen the inside of the asylum walls or the wonderful care provided by staff. Obviously some parts of institutional care were far from ideal for people with mental illness but people & families & society did not know how to provide for the mentally ill. When Willow Court closed I continued to work in the community setting, a lot of older clients died after being taken from there home ( the asylum). I find socially they are more isolated than they were in the Asylum. Thankfully now people with mental illness are more understood & accepted by society. I visited DarkMofo last night, I enjoyed the experience of going back through my old workplace & reliving lots of happy times with staff & the people we cared for.
and you should be proud of your work, the only people who shouldnt are those who abused behind closed doors, the same as anyone who acts the same today while supporting any vulnerable group. in the context of time, this is what the community asked people to do and most did it and did it above and beyond the call of duty.
The cognitive dissonance that come from some ex-workers at Willow Court astounds me sometimes. Especially when many other ex-workers and ex-clients can list the cavalcade of abuse that existed within these walls.
Fantastic, you are proud of the work that you did and while you were there you didn’t see any abuse. Doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen and it does mean that you and your professional skills are being challenged or criticised.
It can be both.
It did happen, many of us have worked with the consequences that abuse and institutionalisation had on the residents, many people blew the whistle on what happening in the halls of willow court.
That is why the author called his book “Troubled Asylum” and not life in paradise. Many ex-staff are open and honest in private about their knowledge that there were a group of people (small) who worked there and shouldn’t have. Also the same can be said of both the mental health and disability support industry today. This time around it’s a more open process and we hear people being charged and punished because of the lack of respect for people in vulnerable situations. Unfortunately where there is vulnerability there will be people prepared to take advantage.
Still processing and reflecting on the exhibition. Everyone who visits will have their own unique personal story and reflection which is what the site, Dark MoFo and Mike Parr demand, not only on the Willow Court site but mental illness. For me the site still has so much untapped potential – and having worked for quite a number of years assisting and looking into respectful and intriguing visitor experiences (and yes so frustrating that the funds for the realisation of these was not forthcoming) I wonder where to from here now.
It is not just a collection of buildings, but a town within a town – a unique place in our history which changed and evolved as society dictated; what was once in a bygone era deemed acceptable, became unacceptable. ie women were locked behind closed doors by their families for simple promiscuity – so judging the place by today’s values is simply not relevant.
Generations of staff cared for society’s most vulnerable and the outcasts including the criminally insane. No doubt there were wrong doings by a small element but the majority of staff treated their charges with respect and many like friends and family under difficult circumstances. Concerts, dances, sporting games and recreation facilities were shared by both residents and staff and their families alike on site and there were many outings to engage and enrich. Sounds a bit like a garden picnic but I’m sure that was not the case. Anyone who worked there should be proud of their heritage as should the whole Derwent Valley community.
So where to from here….. we’ve now been able to see what having financial and other resources can do or at least make a start. Hopefully after the hype of this exhibition and Dark MoFo is over for another year, there are projects in the not too distant future and of course the ultimate project to have a world class visitor experience open all year round. Well done to all and good luck for the future.
A wonderful reflection, Thanks