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The building depicted in these photographs has since been demolished.

Story and Photography
by Kristyn Vinikour

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Introduction

When I first heard that there was an abandoned mental institute in Illinois Iknew I had to find it. It took me almost a year-the summer of 2001-before I had the name of the town and after driving around Manteno aimlessly in the middle of the night, I was pointed in the right direction by some local kids.

As I pulled up to the main building I was overcome with excitement and fear. The main door was intimidating and what lay inside was a mystery. In turning the corner I realized how massive the property was. Over thirty buildings, staring back at me in the dark and haunting quiet. Too scared to enter at night, I sat in the car while a friend peered through a window.

Abandoned buildings had already been my favorite subject to shoot and my friend yelled, "Come here you are going to love this!" As he boosted me up I got my first glance of what was to be my new obsession. This would be my next project. I already knew I wanted to tell a story, but what! t? What words could possibly due the massive asylum justice? I came across the story of Gennie and it was without question, I decided to capture her taunting tale on film.

I had the vision but creating it was a challenge. It wasn't until fall of 2001- and bitterly cold- when i was able to begin the shoot.

The insides of the buildings were far colder than the outside air. My vision called for a girl to represent Gennie. That meant I needed a friend to pose as the tortured patient. This was a painstaking process. The story needed to be painted on her body which meant she had to pose naked. I used acrylic paint and to add to the cold, with each new line, the old paint had to be washed off with gallons of water-which we heated prior to leaving-but it was still freezing for her to stand there wet.

Eventually we started to just paint over the old words. Standing there shivering in a sweater, winter coat, and hat I can't imagine what it was like for her. Not only was it cold, but dirty. She had to walk across the floors barefoot.

Writing on the walls was another challenge. It sounds easy enough to paint a wall but the walls often crumbled under my brush and took a lot longer than expected. Unfortunately due to the cold, the entire story was not captured on film. We vowed to finish the project in the spring but later that winter the main building was torn down.

None of these images were done digitally. I think it is important that for a brief time what you are seeing actually took place. I feel it is important for the story of Gennie to be told and for people to know the injustices she and many others were subjected to. I want to thank my friend Becka for playing the part of Gennie and for sticking it out through the cold to help me bring my vision to life. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. I hope you enjoy the Gennie Sessions.

-Kristyn Vinikour

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Upon her admission, a physician noted that Gennie was neat, clean, tidy. Extremely quiet, but friendly and agreeable, cooperative in ward and routine. Later, he charted "No active signs of pathology."	The examiner probing for paranoid tendencies asked if she had any enemies. "Everyone has", Gennie said. Her brother was an enemy because he had threatened to hurt her.
The therapist asked Gennie what she would do if she were released from the asylum.	Gennie said she would like to have a job, clothes, some books. She would buy rouge and have some teeth extracted.
The therapist noted that Gennie had repeated a statement several times during the examination, "A person that is 25 years old should be away from family entanglements."	Several months later Gennie was subjected to hydrotherapy-repeatedly plunged in and out of ice water. Afterwards she asked: "Is life a farce?"
"What i have of it is," she replied, she felt normal, "except for the stigma of insanity."	Gennie had been given 40 insulin comma "treatments," and had undergone 14 bouts of electroshock therapy. How had she responded? "Gennie was idle, rather unfriendly, does not mingle well with others, talks in a disagreeable way...she is not especially neat or clean."
	Story and all photographs are the intellectual property of Kristyn Vinikour and are used here by her permission. Your questions or comments can be emailed to

The Story

At its most thriving period, The Manteno State Mental Hospital housed over 8,000 patients. Spread over 250 acres of land, the asylum was a massive institute. Built in the mid to late 20's the hospital was opened at a time when little was known regarding mental illness and depression.

Due to the lack of technology and answers, the unknowing public viewed the mentally ill as victims of disease. Parents needed only to sign over their children to the hands of the state to rid their families of the sickness. It was in this period that Gennie was admitted to the hospital.

After attending college for a time, her parents no longer wanted her to live with them. Gennie was in her early 20's and occasionally suffered from minor depression. With no where else for her to go, her parents decided to admit her. It was in this time that many new so called advancements in the name of medicine were being tested. Gennie underwent painful and mind-altering tests. She was never released.

Upon her admission, a physician noted that Gennie was neat, clean, tidy. Extremely quiet, but friendly and agreeable, cooperative in ward and routine. Later, he charted "No active signs of pathology."

The examiner probing for paranoid tendencies asked if she had any enemies. "Everyone has", Gennie said. Her brother was an enemy because he had threatened to hurt her. Her father was an enemy because he had beaten her. And her mother? Gennie did not know if her mother was an enemy.
When asked if she had ever been poisoned, Gennie responded, "I have eaten things I don't like, but i wouldn't call that poisoning."

The therapist asked Gennie what she would do if she were released from the "insane asylum." Gennie said she would like to have a job, clothes, some books. She would buy rouge and have some teeth extracted.

When asked the difference between a mistake and a lie, she asserted, "A mistake is a casual error. A lie is a deliberate attempt to stretch the truth."
What is the difference between laziness and idleness? "I don't know." she said.

The therapist noted that Gennie had repeated a statement several times during the examination, "A person that is 25 years old should be away from family entanglements."

The therapist concluded that she was oriented as to time, place, and person and had good memory and retention.

Several months later Gennie was subjected to hydrotherapy-repeatedly plunged in and out of ice water. Afterwards she asked: "Is life a farce?"
Shortly after her admission, a physician asked Gennie if life was worth living. "What i have of it is," she replied, she felt normal, "except for the stigma of insanity."

Gennie had been given 40 insulin comma "treatments," and had undergone 14 bouts of electroshock therapy. How had she responded? "Gennie was idle, rather unfriendly, does not mingle well with others, talks in a disagreeable way...she is not especially neat or clean."

When the asylum closed in the mid 1980's, Gennie was transferred to a facility in Elgin. Her only visitor was the man assigned to document her existence. When he entered her room she cowered beneath her bed sheets. She mumbled quietly to herself. Her treatments had stolen her mind and denied her her voice. She remained a ward of the state until her death. The state employee was the only one who attended her burial.

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