Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: Industries at the Mass. Hospital for Epileptics. Making Filter Led. 1907

Curator: This photograph, attributed to Woodhead Studio, is titled "Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: Industries at the Mass. Hospital for Epileptics. Making Filter Led." Editor: It feels like such a bleak depiction of labour, doesn't it? Figures clustered near what I presume is a water filtering project. It's all so grey and... industrial. Curator: Indeed. The image is imbued with a certain austerity that reflects the societal attitudes and treatment of those with disabilities during that era. The communal work suggests a perceived need for those institutionalized to be productive. Editor: Almost as if their worth was contingent upon it. It's sad to think of the lives behind those blurred figures. Curator: And this image becomes a powerful symbol of those lost histories, a reminder to see beyond labels. Editor: Exactly. Looking at it now, I feel compelled to remember, to resist the reduction of individuals to mere categories.