centralasian: [PHOTO] Mark Asnin :: Charlie & sch

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Uncle Charlie © Mark Asnin

"In 1980, my uncle Charlie was diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia. His doctor described him as "withdrawn, subject to delusional ideas, persecutory thoughts, ...depressed."

One of the 2.2 million Americans suffering from this neurological brain disorder, he and his family are plagued with mental demons, drugs and poverty. Yet he has never been treated for his underlying psychological condition and has been unable to hold a job since March 10, 1976. Carol, Charlie’s wife, left him and their five kids in 1986. From then on, Charlie was left with the huge task of bringing them up alone. He stayed, and did what he could.

In my images, we see Charlie and his kids struggling to remain a family. We see foster care, abandonment, hospitalization, departure, and reunion. We see how Charlie deals with his burdens, and how he passes them onto his kids. Charlie doesn’t give them the love they need, doesn’t hug or nurture them. Some children stay in contact while others split. Everybody suffers from Charlie’s schizophrenia.

Crack has been the most devastating problem for Charlie and his family. Charlie is surrounded by crackheads because of his own mental problems - he is attracted to drug addicts. For many years Charlie spent his family’s Social Security disability checks on drugs for his girlfriends. In 1995, $8.2 billion was spent on the federal drug war, yet resources for treatment and prevention are very limited."

Проект Uncle Charlie стал победителем Fifty Crows за 2000 год и вошёл в престижный сборник BLINK.

В престижном же сборнике BLINK чуть более подробно осветили вопросы отношений Чарли с его подружками; на сайте такие фото не решились выложить.

Charlie getting a blow from Blamca, his crack addicted girlfriend © Mark Asnin