Bipolar Disorder (Swiss Stories 2019, by Matthieu Zellweger) - Swiss Press Award
Matthieu Zellweger
During the course of a year-long project about bipolar disorder, I shot in many different situations and with a good number of patients, healthcare providers, and relatives. For this image, I was embedded in the team of the emergency ward of a very large psychiatry hospital. This unit was closed and some patients denied the right to go out, often for their own safety. During that time, patients have only one horizon: the courtyard, here shielded from view by a curtain that was drawn on the open window. In addition to this literal locked-in, patients having the disease are often locked into their own world, not entirely in contact with reality as most people would perceive it. This may make it difficult to interact with them. - Zurich, Switzerland, 14 August 2018
Photo / Swiss Stories
2019
Matthieu Zellweger
Bipolar disorder takes a heavy toll on the patients and their relatives. Many features associated with the disease (substance issues, mood swings) are not only stigmatising, but also conducive to severe solitude. This project is about the disease, typical situations encountered by patients who oscillate between heavily medicalised reality, stability and moments of lost control.
