Emkan

 

The inhuman and inevitable process of atrophy and disintegration of the human body and the fruitless attempt to overcome it have always preoccupied my mind. After years of round-the-clock care for a patient with Alzheimer's, I have seen that the disease could permeate into the deepest layers of the patient's life until there is nothing left but itself. The existence will be reduced to a list of symptoms and disorders derived from the disease and memory would turn into fragments of blurry memories. They seem to detach from their surroundings and get perplexed. The world does not imply anything. Only their blurry notion of it represents everything. They live in short and disturbed loops of time. Emotions get a new meaning; every feeling, except anxiety and agitation, is fleeting. Repetition is a fundamental element in communicating with a person with Alzheimer's. Meaningless and obscure phrases, moods, and situations will constantly be repeated, thus finding a new meaning. To understand this situation, I tried to study my parents and their condition through painting. I took photos of them and used those photos as a starting point. This collection attempts to understand this situation through continuous observation and recording.