Cyrus--the title of the page, "Auge", is the German word for "eye", so it's not surprising to see a diagram of an eye there too... I'm guessing maybe the whole page is about eyes, though I lack the mad translating skillz to verify.

I love the way the chairs are grouped. The one yellow one looks directly at the others, with a second yellow kind of hovering at its side like an assistant sitting there with the doctor/nurse talking to the patients. And the rest of the chairs facing those, or looking off to one side, like a group of patients, some of them distracted by whatever is off right of frame (their left)... It's like Hikarino says, it tells a story.

One could do a vertical wallpaper, with black (or decorated, or whatever) bars on either side to fill it out to the required (horizontal) dimensions... The width of the photograph need not be the width of the screen.

I think the nearest mirror/polished steel/whatever is just reflecting the peeling on the wall opposite it, not peeling itself. It's intriguing to think of them as two-way mirrors, though, but I've got no basis for that, just a wild imagination. :)

My guess would be patient dormitories. I could swear I've seen big rooms with similar dividers labeled as such elsewhere on the site (though maybe I'm wrong).

Re: infant restraint, I know swaddling often soothes very young babies, and my own daughter (four months old) appears much more comfortable sleeping strapped into her infant car seat than lying in her crib. Remember that before birth they're nice and comfy in mama's womb where there's no extra space--the big wide world is *frighteningly* big and wide and they're not used to it at all. Bundling them up tightly reassures them by reproducing the tight-quarters feeling of the womb. (At least, this was how it was explained to me.) IIRC the papoose thing is very similar, with the baby wrapped tightly.

That said, I think that usually applies to babies a bit younger than the one in the picture, and I'm not 100% sure what would be so happy-making about having his/her arms strapped down like that, held out to the sides.

That would be my guess; looks like they're curved on the inside in the right way.

Huh. So it does. I'm sure that's not what it is, but it does have that appearance.

Yay! I finally saw something in a photo that other people did!

I've heard that one, Orchid Lunar--an old folk tale about a woman who was buried in her wedding dress, and at some point grave robbers dug her up and stole the dress to sell for good money. The dress gets sold to a new bride (not by the crooks themselves, but by a third party who bought it from them), who keels over on her wedding day. She is found to have been died of formaldehyde poisoning; embalming fluid remaining on the dress seeped into her system through her skin. They discover this after her grieving husband has already given away or sold the dress, unable to bear having such a reminder around, of course, so it goes on to kill more brides.

I think it's an unlikely tale at best, but it is entertaining. :)

I think it's the cupola that does it. You don't normally expect to see that sort of decorations on buildings this... short. Usually they're at least two floors up, or on a space that's the equivalent of that, at least.

Or maybe that's just me! :)

Am I missing something? This looks like the remains of a standard sort of hospital bed with rails to me. So... They're creepy because people slept in them?

*cheers Lynne*

Lynne, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to explain stuff like this to us. I've learned so much about institutions from reading your comments--they're always interesting to read and sometimes (as here) make me think about the whole situation in a different light.

See? *hehe* Sorry, Motts, I guess I was composing my comment at the same time you were!

Not sure it's a toilet... The base looks kind of like one, but it's a bit on the large side, and there's a faucet above it. I'd guess it's another sink--seems like I vaguely recall seeing something like that in the morgue in another gallery, although I could be misremembering.

I guess it just bothers me that people are so eager to ignore perfectly reasonable mundane explanations for what they see just because they want to see something spooky. (And with that I'll drop the subject because you're right, this isn't a message board. Sorry, Motts.)

That chandelier looks awfully familiar... I can't remember where I've seen it, but I know I've seen that design before...

I always love the photos of plants coming up through the carpet. So interesting to see nature taking over.

*nods in agreement* And it's a good example of how you can get beautiful photos of abandoned places--even institutions like this one--that aren't creepy. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like the creepy ones too, but it's good to see one that's not every once in a while.

That reminds me, Motts, I'm curious--do you usually photograph items (such as equipment, lamps, desks, the infamous chairs, etc.) just as you find them, or do you usually have to move them a bit to get the shot you want? Just curious...

Well, that's even creepier; I have a mirror of the same design in my house right now. Mine's full-length, but it's definitely the same--this probably came off of the matching vanity. We also have a couple of other pieces of furniture from the same line. I don't know why seeing something so similar to the furniture I have should creep me out, but it kind of does.

Very nice. I like the dramatic curve of the fallen miniblinds (or whatever--that's what they look like anyway) against the straight, ordered lines of the window frame.

I like not just the direction the chair's facing in this photo, but also the way it's leaning forward... It reminds me of a person who, having tried to do something (escape?) and failed, finds themselves unable to do anything more than sit slumped in front of the window and stare out of it thinking of what might have been.

Oh, wow. So that's what those are. I used to have a lamp like that (only industrial green, not brown) in my bedroom when I was a kid! I always thought it was kind of weird and wondered why it was made like that. Perhaps it was an old examination lamp, too.

I like the combination of the unbroken light bulb and the switch sticking out below it, actually. Just seems sort of fun somehow.

I must be the least visually imaginative person in the world, because I can't see anything in this picture. Hallway, doors, light, shadows. I can see how it would be easy for the mind to form patterns out of the shadows, the peeling paint, etc., but I just don't see the things you guys are talking about no matter how hard I try.

I see... nothing in the archway. Another arch behind it, and a few spots of what looks like stray sunlight or something, but otherwise just darkness.