The Lost Memories of Jean Black

My concept was to create a double-sized puzzle so the viewer had to put the work together. The puzzle represents the gaps in memory and how people with Alzheimer’s have to try and put the pieces together in their heads to form a memory. Puzzles are very reminiscent of childhood as it is common for children to learn through puzzles. As people with Alzheimer’s go through the disease they become almost childlike again through forgetting how to do basic tasks that you learn when you’re younger.

This project started as a way to represent the disease through my Nana’s story. But it gave me an opportunity to really show how sad and scary Alzheimer’s is. It is aimed at people who know someone going through the disease, but really it is for everyone. I feel it’s important for everyone to be educated about Alzheimer’s as it’s not a normal part of ageing. There is a big difference between old age memory loss and Alzheimer’s.

The Lost memories of Jean Black is in response to the theme ‘lost’ for the 2019 ISTD competition. The typographic piece is about my Nana and her Alzheimer’s story. Alzheimer’s works with the theme of ‘lost’ as it is the loss of memories and cognitive abilities. The narrative is her story from my perspective to make people feel empathic about the disease and understand how it feels to go through it. It explores before she was diagnosed to where she is now, which is the later stages of the disease. The Lost memories of Jean Black was a finalist in the Best Awards 2019 in the Public Good Student Section.