Abandoned Asylums: Matt Van der Velde
Canadian photographer Matt Van der Velde has toured the deserted and decaying hospitals once used to house and treat patients suffering from psychiatric disorders.
Confronting his own mental health issues and giving in to "morbid curiosity", the photographer set about exploring the North American facilities where many patients in the 19th century spent most of their lives institutionalised. (Photos © Matt Van der Velde)