BEDLAM
THE WORLD’S FIRST HOSPITAL FOR LUNATICS
AN EXHIBITION FOLLOWED BY
AN IMMERSIVE DOCUMENTARY
AN IMMERSIVE DOCUMENTARY
BY
MAT COLLISHAW
Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to Bedlam.
(bed-luh-m)
-
1. A scene or state of wild uproar and confusion.
2. Archaic. An insane asylum or madhouse.
Mental illness has always been part of our society. Established in 1247, Bethlehem Hospital, or ‘Bedlam’ as it derived from Middle English popular pronunciation, is the world’s oldest “lunatic” hospital. In an age when there was no state funding for hospitals, viewing the insane was legitimated and became an effective means for the exhortation of charitable donations. One of the more unsavoury side effects of the arrangement was the treatment of the hospital as an arena for entertainment where the public could visit for leisure purposes. For this reason Bedlam became notorious as a destination for the experience of madness and the abject. Bedlam became a byword for anarchy, chaos and confusion.
INTRODUCTION
THE JOURNEY
BEDLAM is an extended reality exhibition followed by an immersive documentary that propels the audience to the very heart of Bedlam asylum as it was in the 17th century: absurd, shocking, chaotic, grotesque, and ultimately poignant.
BEDLAM is an entirely dematerialised work, accessible via a digital platform. It is designed to be experienced by anyone equipped with virtual reality equipment or via a computer or a smartphone.
BEDLAM is an entirely dematerialised work, accessible via a digital platform. It is designed to be experienced by anyone equipped with virtual reality equipment or via a computer or a smartphone.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
BEDLAM is not a game or an educational tool, it’s intended as an artwork, an attempt to reflect on the human condition, on our relationship with technology, our perception of reality and the appetite for spectacle. The intention is to resurrect a particularly sinister chapter in the history of human conduct. Our interest in the absurd and the grotesque and the appetite for human debasement remains today; digital technology is just the latest vehicle to give us unprecedented and immediate access to these darker corners of human behaviour. The experience is not seeking to sensationalise or mock mental health problems, but to lay bare the savagery with which sufferers have been treated, and to draw parallels with modern day voyeurism.
Mat Collishaw
TICKETS
BOOK YOUR TICKETS FOR BEDLAM
(Venice version, 30 minutes)
@Venice VR Expanded // Aug 31 – Sep 19, 2021
(Venice version, 30 minutes)
@Venice VR Expanded // Aug 31 – Sep 19, 2021
PRODUCTION
TEAM /
PARTNERS
TEAM /
PARTNERS
COPRODUCTION
Mat Collishaw Studio
EL-GABAL
Minky Productions
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA)
Bethlem Museum of the mind
Digital Catapult
Institut Français
The British Library
Mat Collishaw Studio
EL-GABAL
Minky Productions
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA)
Bethlem Museum of the mind
Digital Catapult
Institut Français
The British Library
CONTACT
Gabrielle Lebrun
gabrielle@el-gabal.com
DISTRIBUTION
Antoine Cardon
antoine@el-gabal.com
+33 6 49 45 33 97
Julien Planté
julien@minkyproductions.com
+44 7736 438260
PRESS
Toby Kidd
toby@toby-kidd.com
+44 207 254 1235
+44 7388 640144