Stories / Gallery: Abarbanel, mental Institution

“Love is a source of strength which rules the world and makes it go round, and it stands even above the essence of wisdom” 

Don Yehuda Abarbanel 

The project "Photos from Abarbanel" was a result of collaboration between Kobi Wolf - Photographer and "Saad Lachole in Israel" - Friends of the Yehuda Abarbanel Medical Mental Health Center Association. The Association dedicates its recourses to improve the quality of life and the well-being of the patients hospitalized in the Center. The Association initiates unique projects, raises funds and participates in the  

planning and implementation of these projects. The two years long project at Abarbanel hospital produced an exhibition which was opened to the public on November 1st 2006. The purpose of the project was to promote public awareness of mental illnesses and to support community based services in Israel. In this unique photographic work, Kobi Wolf discloses the daily life in a psychiatric hospital from a human point of view. Out of respect to the patients' privacy, Kobi's photographs do not disclose the identities of the patients. Nevertheless, one who looks at the photos finds himself taken by the micro universe of the surreal world of mental institutions. It took Kobi six months to become a "member" of the hospital's daily routine, after which he could start taking photos. The project resulted in a highly authentic and objective documentary work