In the Shadows of the Institution

Senior Lecturer in Law, Dr Lucy Series and artist Grace Currie have collaborated on the film, In the Shadows of the Institution to shine a light on the bureaucracy of social care detention and to help make the topic accessible to all. Dr Series published the book, Deprivation of Liberty in the Shadows of the Institution in 2022 which explores safeguards to protect the right to liberty for those who draw on care and support in the ‘community’. An estimated 300,000 people in the UK are potentially deprived of their liberty by their care arrangements, many live outside the confines of an ‘institution’, but still have limited freedom to make decisions about themselves, the care they receive or their futures. Dr Series and Grace’s film was made possible due to funding from Wellcome where Dr Series has been a Fellow from 2017-2022. Grace continues to produce and exhibit work under the title of In the Shadows of the Institution and related themes.