by Waheed Akhtar

Hellingly Hospital was a very large mental hospital in the village of Hellingly, East Sussex, England. It was opened in 1903 and the architecture of the hospital was done by great asylum architects of the era.

Accroding to wikipedia

The majority of the hospital closed throughout 1994, however, and to this day much of the 25.4 hectare site stands derelict and extremely run down, after suffering repeated vandalism and multiple arson attacks. The hospital is popular with Urban Explorers, not because it has many hospital items remaining but because of its size, severe dereliction and its dilapidation.

In this post, we will bring some stunning photos from Hellingly Asylum Mental Hospital. I really don’t know the history of Hellingly Asylum Hospital but I liked the photos of this building found on DeviantArt and thought to share it with you guys.

I would love to know more about this. If anyone of you have some interesting stuff to share about Hellingly Asylum, please share it here in the comments.

Come checkout the great work of the Columbian soap actor turned photographer.  Not quite David LaChepelle just yet, but he certainly has the basics all set and a stable of top-end clients including MTV and Juan Valdez.  Take some time to seek out more from this emerging talent.

Painter, pencil pusher, model, photographer & cosmonomad. Born in Moscow of Russian and Uighur descent, I was raised by a troupe of gypsy scientists from space, who sold me to an American technological research facility in 1992. After a daring escape, I graduated from the LA County High School for the Arts and retreated into an underground studio where I studied with the revered Madame Von Kuntzertag, followed by a brief stint at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I’ve traveled the world gathering art and fashion expertise and am thrice certified as official Finesse Monitor to the Khan throne. I scheme & work on an excess of projects in my secret Angel City den with a nano-companion named Micron, surrounded by mannequins & paint fumes. Interests include adventures, universe-trotting, various art forms, collecting odd medical tools, literature, dancing, speeding down empty roads at 3 am with the windows down and the music up, arcane/ultramodern technology, and space-travel.

I’m a co-founder of Coilhouse – a blog and a print magazine that focuses on alternative culture.

In addition to writing for Coilhouse I contribute urban exploration + event photo galleries to ChinaShop and occasional fashion rants to Haute Macabre.

I’m a staff photographer at Suicidegirls.com – that’s also where I got my official pro-blogging start with “What’s Zo Wearing?” – a weekly fashion column that ran from November 2006 through February 2008.

Contact: zoetica [at] gmail [dot] com

My posts on Coilhouse

Click here to see all of my Coilhouse posts

My posts on Chinashop

Click here to see all of my posts on Chinashop

My Posts on Haute Macabre

Click here to see all of my posts on Haute Macabre

What’s Zo Wearing?

Click for an archive of my first fashion Column on Suicidegirls.Com

“It’s visionaries like Mr. Zhun that force us to see outside our little realms. Drag us kicking and screaming into the next level. THAT is what makes him a friend of N2F and UrbanAlex.com!” ~ Matthew Stroul

Mr. Chen Zhun’s studio is located in downtown Beijing. So far, Chen is the most favorable freelance photographer in China. After having spent a decade in Europe as a professional photographer, Chen came back to China one year ago. Recognized by the Chinese peers for his excellence, Chen Zhun now is a star photographer that some China’s fashion magazines are after. It seems that he has realized the dream held by other photographers — get big orders, high payment and chance to travel around the world.

Chen told us a joke: if you are a magazine editor and you ask the editors of another magazine for Chen’s telephone number, you may get a wrong number. This somehow indicates that high-octane photographers in China are still insufficient. Compared with overseas counterparts, China’s photo market is still in its infancy. However, its accelerating market demands have become an object of envy. As it gets mature, China’s commercial picture industry will play an even greater role on the world market.

China has come alive creatively as Hong Kong’s long time western-friendly influence spreads throughout the country. While the dominant hands of a conservative regime (to be polite) are still able to censor it seems expression beyond the traditional has become more acceptable. Chen’s work is an expression of both science fiction and technological envelope pushing. The deep cinematographic depths of field when combined with special effects and retouching have made simply some of the most stunning images I have seen for FHM China’s 3 year anniversary.

Clearly MANGA inspired poses and graphic novel-esque in detail I must say this is some of the most progressive photography I have seen. Models with machine-guns in a post-apocalyptic future wearing fetish grab is not new… its just new for mainstream fashion – ANYWHERE! Let alone the only real bastion of Communistic inspired government. Just because they have cell phones and hosted the Olympic games doesn’t mean the oppression suddenly lifted and melted away, but having one of the world’s most progressive photogs come home IS an indication change is happening quickly.

His work for the Olympic games, also depicted in the Never2Funky photos gallery, is truly inspired. The photos defy stereotypical images of oft found in sports in favor of an emotional depiction of the sport in action. To the untrained eye a model may have freakishly long legs or arms – well that’s mainly thanks to retouching but done SOOOOO perfectly and SOOO subtly its practically impossible to tell. Its JUST enough for you to think “Damn man, that ain’t right”. It will pick at your brain and draw you into the image closure, and THAT my friend is when he has you. The absolute tell of an artist is one who can draw you in and make you think about what is going on. Couple that imagery with a product, message or brand and it will crawl into your brain for a good long while.

As China emerges from its cold war hangover, and things become more modern to all her people and not just the wealthy then I expect Mr. Chen Zhun to be right there pushing the envelope for his people and all people. It’s visionaries like Mr. Zhun that force us to see outside our little realms. Drag us kicking and screaming into the next level. THAT is what makes him a friend of UrbanAlex.com and N2F!

~ Matthew Stroul