This film is part of Free
Rolanda Polonsky, Sculptor
Enter the imaginative world of acclaimed sculptor Rolanda Polonsky, a resident of Netherne Psychiatric Hospital, Surrey.
Overview
Enter the imaginative world of acclaimed sculptor Rolanda Polonsky, who had been a resident of Netherne Psychiatric Hospital in Coulsdon, Surrey for 26 years when this film was made. One of the positive aspects of her illness, described in the film as a schizophrenia, is that it "tapped a deep source of mystical vision and human feeling" which finds expression in her work.
The Netherne Hospital was pioneering in the treatment of mental illness. Edward Adamson, one of the founding fathers of art therapy, ran art classes for patients who included Polonsky and the Canadian painter and writer William Kurelek. The hospital closed in 1994 and was largely demolished to make way for a new housing development.
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