All images were taken on the grounds of or near hospitals in downtown Toronto, including psychiatric facilities. No faces are visible – as a healthcare professional myself, I recognize the privacy of these individuals even as they engage in public spaces; as a patient, I want to illustrate the “facelessness” that occurs in the medical process, as the transition from individual to diagnosis takes place. From “pleasant young woman” to “difficult patient” in the consult letter to the referring physician. This kind of transformation to a kind of invisibility occurs to a greater degree as other marginalized identities overlay the chronic illness: queerness, neurodivergence, lower SES, etc.
I work exclusively with film, a physical and tangible medium, rather than the ones and zeroes of digital. In doing so, even these “faceless” individuals leave their mark.
The collection of images includes a self-portrait.
Instagram: @frontoparietal
Image Copyright: Leslie Ordal, 2019-2020
Image Description: Person looking through a camera looking at their reflection in the street in a window that reads Mental health is health.
Image Copyright: Leslie Ordal, 2019-2020
Image Description: Black and white photo. Street view of a person in a white top and dark trousers on a tree-lined street, standing at a door, with the reflection of the person and the street visible in the window front.
Image Copyright: Leslie Ordal, 2019-2020
Image Description: Black and white photo. Person in a white coat, skirt and high heels, carrying a purse, walking along a sidewalk across the street from a tall building, with parked cars visible in the background.
Image Copyright: Leslie Ordal, 2019-2020
Image Description: Black and white photo. Person in a denim jacket, baseball cap carrying a plastic bag standing at a crosswalk, looking to the left. They are facing a large building with trees in front. There is a blur of movement captured in the photo of a vehicle that has passed quickly.
Image Copyright: Leslie Ordal, 2019-2020
Image Description: Person in a red coat sitting on the ground on a sidewalk, outside a white brick building. Electricity wires are visible overhead and a person in a blue coat and jeans is walking away from the seated person, towards a bus shelter.
Image Copyright: Leslie Ordal, 2019-2020
Image Description: Overexposed photo of a person standing at an intersection, with their hair tied in a bun and a tattoo of words partially visible (me vanish) on the back of their neck. The person is looking across the intersection. There are overhead wires and traffic lights visible. A white car sits at the intersection, with a row of shop fronts on a tree-lined street to the side.
Image Copyright: Leslie Ordal, 2019-2020
Image Description: Black and white photo. A person in a long dark coat with a back-pack, partially obscured by a post, stands at an intersection. Multiple cars are visible, as is a cyclist coming up the street.
Capturing Chronic Illness 