Built in 1889, the Santa Creu Mental Institute cared for the mentally ill in Barcelona for a century. The colossal building located on the outskirts of the city had a capacity for 700 people. In its last years, it housed only about 40 patients, most of them elderly who had never left the center.
In his first report as a photographer in 1980, Tino Soriano managed to sneak in, taking advantage of the absence of medical personnel on Saturdays. Far from the preconceived ideas and prejudices he might have about mental illness, he found a group of harmless, kind, lonely people abandoned by their families. They lived in dire conditions and feared the outside world.
This report marked the beginning of Tino Soriano's extensive career dedicated to portraying the human facets of the world of healthcare.
First edition, 2022
60 pages, 160 x 213mm
