Operating Table at Kuwashima Hospital, a seven-lamp surgical light hangs over the operating table at the centre of the room.

01 Kuwashima HospitalKaga2016

ISO 1001/5f/8.014mm

Series · 26 prints

Kuwashima Hospital

Photographed 2016
Frames 26
Camera NIKON D810
Location Ishikawa, Japan
Status Abandoned
01 ABOUT THIS SERIES

Series story

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

Kuwashima Hospital sits in Yubari, on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. The town's population peaked above one hundred thousand in the 1960s and has since fallen below seven thousand. The hospital is abandoned.

Yubari was built around coal. The Hokkaido Colliery and Steamship Company employed most of the town; when the mines closed through the 1980s the population that remained could not sustain the services that had been built for a city. Kuwashima Hospital's rehabilitation ward survives with orthopaedic equipment and physiotherapy fittings still in place. The corridors are mostly intact. The same demographic collapse stripped the rest of Yubari: the Shimizusawa thermal power station that ran on captured mine gas, the workers' dormitories, the schools, the cinema. Kuwashima is part of the larger emptying.

Tokyo Times (Haikyo hospital)

03 PRINTS

Prints in this series

Hand-signed limited editions, printed from the original RAW file. Editions run from 100 down to 25 and are not reissued once they sell through.

Operating Table at Kuwashima Hospital, a seven-lamp surgical light hangs over the operating table at the centre of the room.
Operating Table
Reflection at Kuwashima Hospital, a lone hospital trolley stands motionless, its rusted frame reflected in the still water.
Reflection
Xray Machine at Kuwashima Hospital, a blue lead apron lies across the X-ray examination table, still draped as though.
Xray Machine
Stamps at Kuwashima Hospital, a metal stamp box sits open on a concrete windowsill.
Stamps
Practicioners Office at Kuwashima Hospital, a blue vinyl office chair sits between a steel trolley and a padded examination.
Practicioners Office
Karaoke Night at Kuwashima Hospital, a colour photograph lies face-up on a floor of shattered tiles.
Karaoke Night
Genkan at Kuwashima Hospital, a wooden shoe rack lines the back wall, cubby holes still holding uwabaki slippers in neat.
Genkan
Doctors Dinner at Kuwashima Hospital, a colour photograph lies on stained tile flooring.
Doctors Dinner
Control Knobs at Kuwashima Hospital, once carefully adjusted to aid patient recovery, they remain untouched, frozen.
Control Knobs
Books at Kuwashima Hospital, a bundle of Japanese paperbacks sits tightly bound with packing tape.
Books
Bone Saw at Kuwashima Hospital, a cast-cutting saw rests on a metal surface, its small circular blade still fitted.
Bone Saw
Kuwashima Hospital Rear at Kuwashima Hospital, to the left, the remains of the rehabilitation ward are barely holding.
Kuwashima Hospital Rear
Waiting Room at Kuwashima Hospital, a vinyl bench sits in the centre of the ground-floor lobby, its chrome legs corroded.
Waiting Room
Hallway at Kuwashima Hospital, vinyl floor tiles have lifted and shattered across the corridor of Kuwashima Hospital's.
Hallway
Kitchen And Dining Room at Kuwashima Hospital, a kitchen table sits centre-room, covered in a checked cloth gone grey.
Kitchen And Dining Room
Kuwashima Hospital at Kuwashima Hospital, a three-storey concrete building stands facing the road.
Kuwashima Hospital
Staircase at Kuwashima Hospital, concrete steps climb a narrow stairwell toward a single bright opening.
Staircase
Toilet at Kuwashima Hospital, small blue-green mosaic tiles line the walls of a narrow washroom.
Toilet
Bath at Kuwashima Hospital, a stainless steel hydrotherapy bath sits recessed into a tiled platform.
Bath
Weights at Kuwashima Hospital, a rehabilitation frame stands at the centre of the room, its green-painted castors rusted.
Weights
Doctors Office at Kuwashima Hospital, a dark blue vinyl couch sits against the far wall, its surface covered in a fine grey.
Doctors Office
Locker Room at Kuwashima Hospital, steel lockers line the left wall, doors wrenched open or hanging at angles.
Locker Room
Rehabilitation Waiting Room at Kuwashima Hospital, piles of bound books fill most of the space, stacked neatly yet.
Rehabilitation Waiting Room
Chemical Storage at Kuwashima Hospital, a glass-fronted cabinet lines the left wall, its sliding panels removed and leaned.
Chemical Storage
Rehabilitation Equipment at Kuwashima Hospital, a modulation control panel lines the left wall, its frequency dials.
Rehabilitation Equipment
Drying Room at Kuwashima Hospital, a quiet, empty room where walls and ceiling bear the marks of years of neglect.
Drying Room
04 ABOUT THE PRINTS

How they’re made

Made to order by Brett in Sydney, from the original RAW file. Each print is hand-signed and numbered before it ships.

Paper

Ilford Galerie cotton rag, 310 gsm. Acrylic on metallic gloss, 260 gsm.

Editions

Open in XS and S. Limited in M (100), L (50), XL (25). From $100.

Print tiers →

Lead time

Unframed: 5 to 10 business days. Framed and acrylic: 10 to 20.

06 PRESS

In the press

One day I stopped at a vast abandoned factory I passed on my way home from work. There was a long section of fence missing. I wandered in, camera in hand, and that moment was the unofficial beginning of Lost Collective.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

Leaving a secure job to work as an artist, trying to manage inconsistent income and tempering the self-doubt and self-criticism that came with it has been one of the most difficult things I've done.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

Holding a solo exhibition in one of the spaces I've photographed would also be a dream, particularly at a site with a strong community connection - so the images can be enjoyed by the people who made it matter.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

See press coverage →
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

Read the full story

Articles when they're published. The history behind a place. The day of a shoot. The work between prints. No marketing, no schedule.

You're subscribed.