G I R L S W A R D : L E F T
G I R L S W A R D: L E F T
On January 11th of 2016, I was admitted to a mental institution. "Girls Ward: Left" is a
body of work created as a coping mechanism for my pain I still feel from my days at this place. It is a way for me to process all that led to my admittance, what happened while I was there, and everything afterwards. This series dives deep into years of pain and emotion that I have only recently learned to truly share with the world.
On January 11th of 2019, I did an exhibition of the work. I have written a book of the same title about my stay in the institution that featured the photographs from the series, my writing, and even some of my paperwork from my stay. Girls Ward: Left is now being turned into a play in Ohio with the script being inspired by my story.
Books are still available for purchase for a limited time. Please reach out to me to order a copy! Details about a second show will be released soon.
Milky water runs through their veins,
the memories have faded, but the pain stays the same.
Submerged in the shadows, all the scars have healed.
These women show the scary things I still feel.
Once I was clinging to life,
as I felt my breathe start to slow.
My arms became best friends with a knife,
and they loved to laugh when the blood started to flow.
With the turn of a page, my life had to change.
Attacked, tied down, and shoved into a box,
with the door to my past bolted and locked.
When my sentence was up,
the straight jacket came off.
Death within life and life within death,
these photos have helped me catch my breathe.
I took a pause and ripped off the gauze,
washed my hands and took a stand.
Somehow, a bathtub helped me take control
of a life I thought I lost when I fell down a dark hole.
My life is no longer taken over by feeling bereft,
because of the creation of Girls Ward: Left.
P H O T O S B Y J O R D A N P E T T E Y S F O R V O Y A G E A T L