Locked: Psycho-Neurological asylum in Syunik

Syunik Psycho-Neurological Regional Dispensary is a closed institution with a 25-year history where about eighty mentally dependent patients are kept, dangerous for themselves and for others.

Throughout the history of the «house of grief», his administration has made heroic efforts to keep the institution afloat, so that the patients receive at least the most essential treatment and somehow feed. However, due to regular underfunding, for long time the two-storey barrack never saw repairs, and patients’ lives remain depressingly monotonous.

Recently, thanks to the modest sponsorship provided by western charities, conditions of detention and employment for the patients have been slightly improved. However, there are still problems with the provision of basic hygiene, there is a lack of assistive devices for shut-in, bedridden patients, whose diet remains scarce. The use of new methods of alternative treatment is out of the question for a reason of catastrophic staff shortage.

When I was working on the story, I used a line of special lenses with shiftable optical axis and selective focusing and frame blur area.