My project Spirits was set up in a former home for handicapped, and so called severely educable girls. Only after many years did we hear about the mental and physical abuse that took place there, and only since 2008 has this home, run by nuns, been closed. I myself grew up not far from this place., never realizing what was going on. Ever since I heard about the events that took place in this convent, I wanted to take photographs there. I was not allowed access to the children`s former dormitories or common rooms, but I got access to the attached convent, which also has been abandoned and normally is closed to the public too. I only had a short time to take photos and could therefore only gain a small impression of the atmosphere. As I was unable to speak to any of the former inmates, my photos are somewhere between documentation and fiction.

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About
Martina Zingg-Schir, born in Innsbruck, Austria, is an amateur photographer and has been involved in artistic photography for several years. She did a diploma in photography in Vienna to deepen her knowledge and skills, furthermore project courses and courses in portrait, black and white and landscape photography with Rupert Larl, Fotoforum Innsbruck, Narrative Photography with Viktoria Sorochinski, Berlin, Diploma Leica Academy Vienna. Her work was shown in several group exhibitions at LIK Gallery Vienna and at the Photogallery „Fotoforum Innsbruck“. She runs her own gallery at her studio, where she works as a dermatologist.