Willow Court hosting Open The Door exhibition

The ladies' cottage in Willow Court, New Norfolk, is currently hosting an art exhibition called "OPEN THE DOOR".

The exhibition connects to the long history of women who were held as psychiatric patients in the cottage.

It is the first-time collaboration between visual artist Brigita Ozolins and composer Dean Stevenson.

The two-storey ladies' cottage has been transformed with over 60 suspended mirrors, a haunting soundtrack, and chalk writing on the walls.
Originally built in 1868, the Cottage provided accommodation in private rooms for women who were diagnosed with different conditions such as hysteria, melancholia, epilepsy, disobedience and impure thoughts.

Treatment often featured outdated and brutal medical procedures such as ice-water baths.

The ladies were also treated with conventional methods, such as animal therapy, which involved caring for lamas and rabbits, and they also cooked, cleaned, and sewed.
The OPEN THE DOOR exhibition was commissioned by The Sisters, Betul and Defne Madakbas, who own the Cottage and the nearby Nurses Quarters.

The project reflects their commitment to engaging the community with history through art and music.

Despite the huge challenges faced by the residents of the cottage, many were not powerless and had an inner strength that enabled them to "open the door" to a life beyond Willow Court.
"The two-way mirrors are like reflective portals suggestive of other worlds and states of mind, and the writing on the walls is a reminder of basic human states of being, sleeping, waking, breathing", said artist Brigita Ozolins.
"Dean’s soundtrack references the grand piano on the front deck of the Cottage and evokes the experience of a dream state where you can witness the Ladies Cottage but also free yourself from its reality.”
The exhibition is part of the Tasmanian Autumn Festival and is supported by a grant from the Tasmanian Government.
The OPEN THE DOOR exhibition runs from March 29 through to May 3, open from Wednesday to Friday: 10am - 2pm, and Saturday & Sunday: 11am - 5pm.