My publication ‘Forget Me Not’ interprets my own personal experiences as someone with dementia in my family, alongside other young people’s point of view. My aim is to help others by removing the stigma around dementia and to create a safe space for a ‘younger me’.
My portfolio 'More Than A Patient' explores dementia from the perspective of someone with the disease. People with dementia can be forgotten about, so by creating a project where their experiences are at the forefront, I hope to give a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves and prove that dementia doesn’t erase someone’s identity.
Through these two bodies of work, I hope to create a discussion around the impact of dementia. With increased awareness, we can hope for a future where medical advancements will improve the outcome for everyone involved.
This shoot which is featured in my Publication is called 'Falling Apart' and focuses on the feelings I am currently experiencing. Having only just accepted the loss of my grandma on my mum's side, my other Grandma was diagnosed. It feels like everything is falling apart and will never be okay again. I put on a brave face when I talk about her, but in reality, I am just patching up the holes as much as possible.
Another shoot from my Publication is ‘Halted Youth' which is focused on my childhood experiences of dementia. Having to understand that my grandma was changing made me grow up a lot faster than other kids. I wasn’t able to be care-free and innocent at such a young age, as I knew things were wrong. My childhood was cut short.
My portfolio covers the emotions and experiences of someone with dementia. One of my shoots from this project is 'Blissfully Unaware'. Once a person has become consumed by dementia, they can tend to lose all understanding of what is happening to them. I wanted to focus on the way they can become innocently and blissfully unaware of their condition towards the end. This can be a much-needed relief and may trigger a sense of happiness and youthful joy.
Memory loss and confusion are the first signs of dementia, so I chose to focus on this for my first narrative. I named the shoot ‘Brain Fog’ because I feel it reflects the blurring of memories and loss of focus. I portrayed this emotion through the use of styling and photography techniques. I wanted this shoot to be blurry and unfocused, so I used slower shutter speed and shot out of focus, as well as experimenting with my editing in Photoshop and Lightroom to create my desired effect.
Another shoot from my Portfolio is 'Lost' which reflects the feeling of confusion and loneliness that seems to affect most people diagnosed with dementia. Seniors with dementia may want to escape a situation because they’re confused or disoriented. But as they depart, they can forget what happened and become unexpectedly lost. Dementia can also stop people from going out and seeing people due to fear of this confusion. Or they can simply forget that they have seen friends and family, adding to the feeling of loneliness.
