A Corridor That Moves: Corporeal Encounters with Materiality in a Mental Hospital

Abstract

A corridor, the narrow area that leads to or from somewhere, a passageway that is situated in between exits or entrances and that connects rooms, is often a waiting room for appointments, such as for a doctor. It leads to the main space and what that space offers or requires. It can also become a meeting place, a space in which to encounter something new, as its in-betweenness suggests. In addition, a corridor has a unique character of its own.In our research data, Finnish writers describe their memories of different mental hospitals in Finland from the 1930s until the 2010s. In the mental hospital context, the corridor creates the first impression of the institution: anxiety, uncertainty, or relief are all experienced by patients by walking through it. When one is not allowed to leave, walking or strolling indoors is only possible in the hospital corridors. When one is taken to isolation rooms or treatments via corridors, one has time to prepare oneself -to become more terrified or calmer or to experience any of the feelings in between.The sound of steps in a corridor informs the hearer about the person in it, about the speed of gait, the material the walker's shoes are made of, and the way in which the walker places each foot on the floor. The form and spatiality of a corridor triggers memories of running, e.g. oneself as a child, through corridors elsewhere.People move along, pause and wait in corridors. Everything moves, including the corridor, since it contracts in length, even if only very slowly. The notion of change, how people, materialities, and objects are constantly in motion, makes research and writing about this topic challenging. However, the impermanent nature of movement and what can be shared and conveyed through art can be viewed as an opportunity.

Walking in a cage: Attuning to atmospheric intensities through corporeality

“…My main focus has been on the way in which patients were attached to the material and immaterial characteristics of mental hospitals, to different atmospheres, which I have sought to relate to through a corporeal approach (e.g. Heimonen 2020b; Heimonen & Kuuva 2020;Jäntti et al2021).…”