Sailing into the Grey
My practice is rooted in storytelling, history, and place. My current project, Sailing into the Grey, situates itself in the centre of where these ideas converge. Castings, embroideries, and embossings have been used in a visual installation of works created in a variety of media to offer a window into the life of a person struggling to maintain their grip on a crumbling reality as they succumb to the cruel clutches of dementia. Individually, the works included in the installation capture unique moments. Together they form a body of a work which confronts the viewer with universal themes they can consider through the lens of their own life events. Sailing into the Grey was born out of my personal experience of watching my mother-in-law’s slow and tragic decline as dementia pulls her deep into a fog from which she cannot escape. It is the story of a person taken hostage by a disease that gnaws away at the matter which makes up the essence of her being.
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Research for Sailing into the Grey
Below is a gallery of images which capture my experimentation and exploration of various materials which were the basis for Sailing into the Grey, my final project for the Masters in Fine Art course I completed at UCLan. As part of my research into the topic of dementia, I experimented with pva glue; screenprinting using invisible ink; blurred photography; hair & nail clippings; paint; embossings from collographic plates; latex. The aim of my research was to find ways to highlight the fragility, loss, and decay that is experienced in those with dementia. These images works strive to portray what it is like trying to grab hold of a memory which is lost or dissolving.