Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: K.B. sewing room, 1908. 1908

Editor: This photograph, "Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: K.B. sewing room, 1908," from Woodhead Studio, shows a room full of women sewing. It’s quite stark. What strikes you when you look at this image? Curator: Oh, the layered discomfort! The institutional setting, the clinical gaze... Do you feel the weight of those outdated terms, "defectives" and "epileptics"? It stings, doesn't it? It makes me wonder about their individual stories, lost within these walls. Is it care, or control, captured here? Editor: It's unsettling. I hadn't really thought about the individual stories like that. Curator: It's a mirror reflecting our past prejudices. We can learn so much from this. Editor: I guess it’s a reminder to always look beyond the surface, even in photography.