Patricia’s Room

What happens to our sense of self when we lose our memory? How might we feel?

As a photographer and art therapist I asked how it is possible to portray this life experience?

Patricia’s Room explores the onset of dementia in my mother-in-law Patricia at ninety. Across a series of intimate portraits, it challenges us to consider how we often dismiss older people – particularly at a time when they are at their most fragile.

I wanted to convey Patricia’s experience with an empathetic eye and to shed light on a subject laden with stigma.

Patricia was glamorous, active and engaged until a sudden heart operation triggered confusion and memory loss. She soon became isolated in her home. As conversation became difficult, photography became a wonderful way for me to spend time with her.

Our portrait sessions became an affirmation as she dressed and posed for the camera. She would continually thank me and say how surprised she was that I considered her a worthy subject – she was “amused to be my muse”.

I tried to see the world through her eyes and examine this state of transition in her life. Having a close relationship allowed me a unique opportunity to witness and share her beauty and humanity in various states of being.

Patricia’s Room is about memory, place, transience and fragility: about past and impending loss, and catching what is precious between.