Kitty's not at Home
My grandmothers absence from the spaces she would usually occupy, is a metaphor for her absence at present from our life's.I as an outsider can only view the humiliating mental decline and the loss of this person from the sidelines.The woman, who was once strong becomes weak, once independent becomes dependent, and her ghost lives and is always present, serving as a constant reminder to her family of her absence.
The isolation is felt on both sides, communication is lost and eventually through constant caretaking, an erosion of the memory takes place on both sides,being an outsider in this instance lent itself to my work, as to be looking at the world as an outsider is what I expect the initial stages of this illness would feel like.Terry Pratchet describes this beautifully when discussing his own battle with Alzheimer's, he said that "having Alzheimer's is like standing on the shore of a beach and watching the tide go out, taking with it everyone you know and love".This statement gives us a glimpse at how isolating and lonely this illness is. I want to present the veiwer with the aesthetic of absence, in order to create a sense of quiet, stillness and waiting.The work is trying to deal with her isolation from her family and her absence from their lifes,for me the prospect of photographing her mental decline was not something I felt comfortable with, it gave more power to the illness that had already left her powerless . My aunt once told me that one of the hardest parts of dealing with this illness is having your memories of that persons character, being overshadowed and almost eroded and replaced with new memories of their illness.
I didn't want my work to be a series of photographs showing the decline of my grandmother, I felt we had been forced to look at this already, this work was like a form of therapy for me and for some members of my family. I would like it to continue this way, hopefully helping members of my family, to revisit their memories reflect and help me explore my grandmother's identity, photographing, reflecting and remembering who she was.
The isolation is felt on both sides, communication is lost and eventually through constant caretaking, an erosion of the memory takes place on both sides,being an outsider in this instance lent itself to my work, as to be looking at the world as an outsider is what I expect the initial stages of this illness would feel like.Terry Pratchet describes this beautifully when discussing his own battle with Alzheimer's, he said that "having Alzheimer's is like standing on the shore of a beach and watching the tide go out, taking with it everyone you know and love".This statement gives us a glimpse at how isolating and lonely this illness is. I want to present the veiwer with the aesthetic of absence, in order to create a sense of quiet, stillness and waiting.The work is trying to deal with her isolation from her family and her absence from their lifes,for me the prospect of photographing her mental decline was not something I felt comfortable with, it gave more power to the illness that had already left her powerless . My aunt once told me that one of the hardest parts of dealing with this illness is having your memories of that persons character, being overshadowed and almost eroded and replaced with new memories of their illness.
I didn't want my work to be a series of photographs showing the decline of my grandmother, I felt we had been forced to look at this already, this work was like a form of therapy for me and for some members of my family. I would like it to continue this way, hopefully helping members of my family, to revisit their memories reflect and help me explore my grandmother's identity, photographing, reflecting and remembering who she was.