Visitors are invited to reflect on the experience of individuals within the walls of the former Heathcote Hospital in 182 Days, an exhibition by artist Eva Fernández opening on Friday, 9 November 2012 at the Heathcote Museum and Gallery. The exhibition forms part of Tilt, the City of Melville’s annual program—now in its fifth year—in which one artist is invited to respond to a layer of the site’s history through their chosen medium. Each iteration offers a thought-provoking exploration that reconnects the community with the complex past of the place.

Heathcote Hospital, which operated from 1929 until 1994, treated patients considered “recoverable” for a maximum stay of six months—182 days. Fernández draws on photography, video and installation to evoke the emotional and psychological dimensions of that experience. In researching the former Heathcote Reception Home, she was struck by both the lingering atmosphere of institutional life and the confronting nature of historical treatments that were once considered progressive, yet now appear deeply troubling.

After visiting the Mental Health Museum of WA, Fernández became increasingly focused on themes of fragility—of the mind, of perception, and of the fine line between sanity and insanity. Her work questions the impact of institutional spaces on vulnerable individuals, asking whether such environments offered care or compounded harm. 182 Days will be officially opened at 6.00pm on Friday, 9 November 2012 by Perth-based freelance curator and arts writer Paola Anselmi.