Jessica Whitehead’s lens is special. Not just the one on her camera, but also the one that gives her the ability to understand this country’s complex issues surrounding the mental healthcare system.

I first met Jessica in May of 2024 in my role as a newspaper reporter. She was promoting the opening of her Central State Hospital museum exhibit. Her reputation as the “Asylum Lady” preceded her. I knew of her photography project covering what was once the world’s largest mental health institution. In our interview, I quickly came to realize her knowledge of the former hospital campus rivaled that of some of the most-informed people on the subject. And the photography? It was incredible as well, though I’ll admit to not fully understanding the intent when I first saw her work. On the surface it was a glimpse into a macabre piece of state and local history. Initially all her photos did was whet a curious reporter’s appetite and create a little jealousy. How did she get into these monolithic buildings that now stand as empty memorials to mental healthcare in Georgia?

Jessica and I bonded over things asylum-related and kept one another in the loop on all activity around Central State, as there are ongoing redevelopment efforts to find new uses for the properties.

Months after our first meeting, she spoke at a local symposium centered around the old hospital. I won’t give her story away since it resides within the pages of this book, but her words brought the “Seeking Asylum” mission further into focus for me.

Contrast is at the center of her photography. Not just the light vs. dark, sun vs. shadow aspects prevalent in each piece. The photos are thought-provoking. They shed a light on the differences in how mental healthcare was once handled – on a multi-thousand-acre campus, inside hundreds of buildings manned by thousands of employees – weighed against how it’s done today on a much smaller scale. Societal differences are at play as well. Those who receive mental health services and their loved ones are accustomed to the everyday struggles that come with a diagnosis of a mental illness. Meanwhile, others whose lives remain untouched by mental illness cannot fathom the hardship individuals with those issues face.

I fall into the latter group. I wanted to see inside those old Central State buildings for myself, and Jessica’s work allowed me to do so, all while opening my eyes to a side of the world I barely knew existed. Her lens is a window into a real problem facing America.

This book has been a dream of hers. It is now a reality. Jessica has another dream. She wants to spread her concerns about this country’s diminishing mental healthcare system wider in hopes that elected officials will create real change for the betterment of society. Wouldn’t it be nice to see that become a reality too?

Gil Pound