Do No Harm

 

Originally published in Verbicide issue #24

It started as a project to document the abandoned symbols of our failed American infrastructure; steel mills and power plants that were left behind as technology shifted to adapt to the modern age. But as photographer Shawn May discovered more and more deteriorating state hospitals in 2006, he shifted his focus. Since then, he has traveled the east coast and Midwest trying to document this dying breed of buildings. Ignoring danger and working in secret, he is careful not to exploit or expose these areas, as he strongly believes that to reveal their locations would leave the buildings vulnerable to vandalism and copper scrapping. His overarching goal is to bring light to a slightly darker part of America’s history, and show the beauty in the architectural decay of these buildings. Also, through turning a discerning eye to these relics of the past, Shawn awakens the ghosts of these mental institutions, bringing their stories to the public while writing his own story along the way.