Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: Industries at the Mass. Hospital for Epileptics. Preparing wood piles. 1. 1907

Curator: There's something incredibly haunting about this image titled, "Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics." It depicts patients preparing wood piles. Editor: Yes, that title is jarring, isn't it? It lays bare the dehumanizing language used to categorize people. The composition is equally stark. Look at the uniformity of the figures. Curator: They're almost swallowed by the landscape, aren't they? The bare trees in the background mirror the stark reality, and the wood pile looms large. There is an almost surreal quality to this scene. Editor: Exactly. And that activity—preparing wood—was likely framed as therapeutic. But we can see that forced labor denies agency and dignity, reinforcing societal biases. Curator: It’s interesting how what seems like a simple depiction of work reveals such a complex web of societal prejudices and institutional control. Editor: Indeed. This image, in its quiet way, speaks volumes about the history of eugenics and the treatment of marginalized groups, something we need to consider as we move forward.