In order to raise awareness and inform audiences about the impacts rare diseases have, a Welsh photographer has launched an exhibition that captures the stories of the people living with these unusual conditions.
"Vanishing Asia" is a documentary book trio by photographer Kevin Kelly that encapsulates 40 years of experiences traveling through 35 countries and featrues decades of cultural changes.
A decade ago, Brandon Stanton took his first few photos and listened to the first few stories that would eventually become the Humans of New York viral sensation. Following that success, Stanton decided to see if that idea could travel.
I never set out to make this book nor did I have a plan for the images as I was making them. The photos were a way for me to process what was happening in front of me. This story is about my grandparents, it's about loss, and it's about dementia.
Willard Psychiatric Center began its life in 1869 as Willard Asylum for the Insane, closing down over 125 years later in 1995. Thousands of long-term patients passed through its doors, and when the center was shut down, it was discovered that hundreds of suitcases belonging to some of its earliest residents had been set aside and forgotten in one of the hospital's attics.
Those suitcases and their contents have been preserved, catalogued and, thanks to photographer Jon Crispin and his compelling Willard Asylum Suitcases series, now they have been photographed as well.