Do You Remember The 1511?
Humber Oct 3, 2019 Mariana Belham
On October 3, a new documentary We Remember 1511 was released to honour the deceased patients of the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital.
With the help of the Among Friends Community Mental Health Program and supported by Toronto Biennal of Art, the event premiered a short video on the project where students used stones from the Lake Ontario and handpainted 1511 names on them. The rocks were then distributed across Humber’s Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital Cemetery to give a name to the 1511 unmarked graves.
A project developed by Anne Zbitnew and Cole Swanson, Humber faculty members from the Visual and Digital Arts Program, it aims to honour the memory of those who lived and died at the Psychiatric hospital.
After the video, a sculpture made by the local artist Rocky Dobey was also revealed for the first time. It was meant to represent the history of the Humber Lakeshore grounds and the patients, and it will be placed by the Lakeshore Interpretive Centre.
The sculpture has the shape of one of the hospital buildings and has a flame-shaped structure on top. It’s gold with engraved birds and the phrase “We Remember” on the bricks.
