Exploring Victorian patient portraits at Bristol Lunatic Asylum

Exploring Victorian patient portraits at Bristol Lunatic Asylum

A talk by Dr Paul Tobia, researcher and former psychiatric nurse at Glenside Hospital

Join Dr. Paul Tobia for a fascinating exploration of Victorian patient portraits from Bristol Lunatic Asylum.

Having studied photography and history before becoming a psychiatric nurse, Dr. Tobia brings a unique perspective to the hidden stories of those who lived and worked within the institution.

Drawing on 15 years of research — and a remarkable database of over 8,000 patients — his work reveals the human side of asylum life and earned him a doctorate from UWE.

Whilst researching the patients of the Bristol Asylum Dr Paul Tobia found that from the early 1890’s many of the patients were photographed.

These photographs became something of an obsession! He has now collected and restored over 1000 of them.

Unlike the sometimes sterile notes of the medics, these photos brought back their humanity, though often pose more questions:

- What were they like?

- Can you tell what was wrong with them?

- Did they like having their photos taken?

In this talk, Dr. Tobia will discuss how people with psychiatric problems have been portrayed, how photography changed that, and how our asylum used these photographs.

It is also a chance to see a number of these photographs and the stories behind them.

The talk takes place in Glenside Hospital Museum, which is housed in the former hospital chapel for Bristol Lunatic Asylum, in turn set within in the extensive grounds of the original Victorian hospital.

There will be an opportunity to purchase refreshments at the interval.