sculpture by Carolein Smit

“I am terrified by this dark thing
that sleeps in me; 
all day I hear its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.”
- from elm - sylvia plath

via bloodmilk

“Let conversation cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living.”

Decaying wall from the morgue of the abandoned Pilgrim State Hospital. 

Reblogged from Bloodmilk who had this to say:

Pilgrim state psychiatric center [sic] has haunted me since childhood, being that it exists, in all its decadent splendor, in my home town in long island. Opened in 1941, it still, even in its abandoned state, holds the title of being the largest mental institution in the world.

Photo courtesy of Tom Kirsch, one of the most clear headed and thoughtful urban ruin explorers out there. I’ve lost many hours pouring through his website Opacity.

On-set photo of artist Charmaine Olivia at Purebred. My partner Jason Mitchell and I created a short film and a series of portraits of Charmaine in honor of her solo show “Ritual” which opens at Shooting Gallery in San Francisco tonight (Sat 14th). She looked so incredible in the headdress during filming, Jason pulled her aside to grab this shot.

The short film may be viewed on vimeo.

Headdress & wardrobe : Black Lotus Clothing 
Additional jewelry : Loved to Death & Bloodmilk.

You may read more about this artist, her work and see behind the scenes photos from our shoot together in my blog Ransom Notes.