Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: Rest and massage after Electric cabinet bath. 1904

Curator: Woodhead Studio captured this image, "Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: Rest and massage after Electric cabinet bath." Editor: The composition has an unsettling intimacy. Stark. Vulnerable. Curator: Indeed. These institutional photos were often clinical, attempting to categorize and document. Note the therapeutic technologies present. Editor: Electric cabinet bath... so, the unseen electricity becomes a potent symbol here. It promises both treatment and a kind of controlled power, I think. Curator: A duality present in many symbols of healing. The window's light contrasts the electric device, one natural, the other man-made. Editor: I think the image speaks to our complicated history of understanding and treating neurological differences. A moment caught between hope and… uncertainty. Curator: A poignant point to end on.