© Maja Daniels

You may have noticed that I like to talk not only about prisons but also about other total institutions.

Maja Daniels‘ Into Oblivion photographed on a Protected Unit of a French geriatric care institution “attempts to create a discussion about our institutionalized, modern way of living as well as the use of confinement as an aspect of care.”

Many of the images in Daniels’ series feature patients at the door to the secured wing:

“Ruled according to the “principle of precaution”, residents in the unit can circulate freely within the secured area but due to a lack of activities and a limited presence of carers in the ward, the locked door becomes the centre of attention for the elders who question the obstruction and attempt to force it open. The daily struggle with the door, damaged due to repeated attempts to pick the lock, can last for hours.”