Age is a Privilege, Unless You Forget!

'Age is a Privilege, Unless You Forget!' is an exploration of life, love and loss. Multi-layered, this project was born out of an intimate collaboration with the artist’s father, Charles, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2012.

Project Overview:
"Age is a Privilege, Unless You Forget!" stands as a poignant testament to the enduring power of personal history juxtaposed with the fragile nature of human memory. Through a deftly crafted blend of visual art and storytelling, this project delves into the effects of Alzheimer's, using photography and mixed media to capture the slow erosion of memories. Each piece serves not just as a photographic sculpture, but as a narrative that reflects the emotional and cognitive upheavals brought by aging. By engaging viewers in a multisensory experience, the project invites a deeper understanding and empathy towards the complexities of memory loss, making it a profound exploration of human vulnerability and resilience.

• Exploration of Alzheimer's Impact: The project delves into the profound and personal effects of Alzheimer’s disease through the life and fading memories of my father, Charles, an unknown passionate photographer. It offers a poignant look at how this illness distorts and erases personal and cherished memories.

• Connection through Photography: By rediscovering and interacting with my father's photographic archives, you bridge generational and cognitive gaps. The project uses these photographs as a foundational element, connecting his past with the present through your artistic interventions.

• Visual and Tactile Metaphors: Stickers are employed as a primary artistic tool within the project to symbolize the erasure, alteration, and fragmentation of memories typical in Alzheimer’s patients. The physical act of placing stickers on the photographs serves as a metaphor for the stickiness and eventual loss of memories, making the effects of Alzheimer’s tangibly visible to the audience.

• Color Coding of Memory States: Different coloured stickers indicate varying degrees of memory retention or loss, providing viewers with an immediate visual understanding of the cognitive decline experienced by individuals with Alzheimer’s. This method adds layers of interpretation and depth to the photographs.

• Interactive and Emotional Engagement: The project invites viewers to engage emotionally and cognitively with the work, offering a dynamic interaction as they contemplate what is hidden under each sticker. This interaction mimics the effort of recalling a memory, enhancing the emotional resonance of the experience.

• Therapeutic and Reflective Process: Engaging with and altering these photographs serves as a form of therapy for me, aiding in the process of grieving and coping with the gradual loss of my father while he is still alive. It also encourages viewers to reflect on their relationships and the effects of memory loss, providing a space for communal grief and understanding.

• Interdisciplinary Approach: Beyond photography, the project incorporates poetry, found objects, sculpture, and film to create a multi-sensory experience. This approach not only diversifies the engagement with the subject but also reflects the complexity of human memory and the multifaceted impacts of dementia.

• Personal Narrative as Universal Story: By focusing on the specific story of my father and my relationship with him, the project taps into universal themes of aging, memory loss, and familial love. It invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences with aging loved ones, making the personal universal.

• Challenge to Conventional Viewing: The project challenges conventional methods of viewing art and understanding photography. It pushes the boundaries of how art can be used to explore and express psychological and emotional conditions, encouraging viewers to think beyond traditional genres.

• Educational and Advocacy Potential: Through its immersive and innovative approach, the project educates the public about Alzheimer’s disease and advocates for a deeper understanding of its impacts. It provides a platform for dialogue about aging, memory, and the importance of preserving human connections despite cognitive decline.

"Age is a Privilege, Unless You Forget!" thus serves as a powerful testament to the strength of personal history and the fragility of human memory, encapsulated through a creative and impactful blend of visual art and storytelling.
"Age is a Privilege, Unless You Forget!" exemplifies the PhMuseum Days theme "CLOSER" by intertwining deep personal narratives with the universal experience of memory loss, effectively eliminating any sense of detachment. The work immerses viewers so completely in the personal and emotional aspects of my father’s experience with Alzheimer's that they feel a direct connection to it, rather than observing it as a detached, impersonal case study. This emotional engagement is critical in art. This project transforms viewers’ perceptions through intimate engagement with altered photographic memories, directly embodying how active observation influences and reshapes reality. By focusing on the specific, lived experience of Alzheimer’s within a familial context, it invites profound empathy and challenges conventional stereotypes associated with aging. Through this evocative presentation, the project not only revisits the history of a life but also encourages viewers to reflect and connect with their own experiences.

Artist Information:

I am an Irish artist based in London. I earned a BA in Psychology and Psychoanalysis and a MA in Photojournalism from the University of Westminster, UK.

I began my career as a documentary photographer and have refocused my work as a conceptual documentary artist, adopting a collaborative approach to understanding life and photo-therapy. I explore the subtle unconscious action of control or "lack of control" with a particular interest in the death drive of mental health.

I have participated in solo and group exhibitions in PhotoIreland 2010, 2011, 2012, 2022. My second large-scale solo exhibition of my project I- Cut debuted in Bermondsey Project Space, London in 2018 and in 2024 as part of DOCUMENT NOW Bermondsey Project Space, London Bridge, London 6-17th February 2024 

Most recently, I held a hugely successful solo exhibition of Age is a Privilege, Unless You Forget! at the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, Dublin, 24 August - 01 October 2023 and have since held panel discussions with prominent guests such Gráinne Hope from GBHI, Karen Meenan Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health Dr Declan Lyons Consultant Psychiatrist, St Patrick's mental health Services and Clinical Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Siobhan Grant Head of Fundraising at Saint Joseph's Shankill; Dedicated to Dementia Care and Angel Luis González is Director of Photo lreland, an independent organisation dedicated to stimulating a critical dialogue around Photography in Ireland and to internationally promoting the work of Irish-based artists.

I am an experienced facilitator and tutor (informal and formal learning practices and contexts), having led numerous workshops and professional development programmes to support early career photographers.

Currently, in tandem with my photography practice, I work as a co-ordinator and mentor at the London Institute of Photography, organising monthly talks, creating teaching material, organising and curating their annual exhibition, and designing masterclasses.

Find out more about my practice here

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.