Seeking Asylum, Lynda Cuddy

A colour photograph on metal substrate, with arranged layers of many black and white historical photographs of the London Psychiatric facility buildings and gate on Dundas Street, with orange and blue text call outs inserted and a red photo filter overlayed that shifts the print to mostly red image. 

Title: Seeking Asylum

Artist: Lynda Cuddy
Date: 2026
Medium/Materials: Photograph on metal 

Dimensions: 30.48 cm x 45.72 cm
Form/Genre: Photo-collage

Key Terms/Subject/Tags: Memory; Medicalization; Art as Witness

Artist Statement:

Seeking Asylum examines the mental health system of the late 1950s and 60s. Through layers of photographs, and call outs from historical documents, the work reflects on visits to a mental health institution to see a relative. What emerges when we revisit our experiences and recollections is the enduring impact those visits had. 

Lynda Cuddy’s art practice is generally concerned with the unintended consequences of things humans do, or truly looking at the everyday, and focuses on the intersection between fine art photography and printmaking. 

Cultural Context / Story Behind the Work:

Responds to Cuddy’s experience with an aunt with Schizophrenia. 

Rights for this Image:

This digital image is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. You are free to share it for non-commercial purposes, as long as you credit the artist.

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