Artwork Description
Monica Lundy – Still Improving
Dimensions: 30 x 22″ paper
Year: 2017
Medium: coffee and gouache on Fabriano paper
Lundy found this woman’s life in the Wellcome Collection Archives in London, when she was researching formerly locked away women. This type of involuntary lock up of women happened globally, it was not just occuring in fascist Italy but across the world.
Based on research conducted at various legendary psychiatric hospital archives, many of the portraits feature patients whose lives and stories have been long forgotten in time. While working with documents and images of the anonymous masses, I found myself reflecting on how this tragic history has also directly involved the lives of so many individuals of cultural significance, including famous artists, writers, musicians and many more.