/ House of wandering spirits (2000)

House Cornax was a rundown shelter house in the center of The Hague. It was home to about 35 men, many of whom had a history of mental health problems. A local family ran the house, even though it did not meet official standards. Still, the city allowed it to stay open because it offered a place to live for people who had nowhere else to go.

At the time, the Dutch government supported a policy of moving psychiatric patients out of institutions and into society. This approach was based on both ideals and cost-saving measures. However, not everyone was able to cope with life outside an institution.

For my graduate project at KABK, I documented this community of men in a portrait series, which is later published in M Magazine and NRC Handelsblad in 2001