In a course Laura did involving dementia, there were descriptions of what those who suffer dementia feel. With our partners from last week, we were each given a word at random to create a phrase revolving around that word.
For Annabel and I, our word was “nervous”. Trying not to be too representational with movement, we endeavoured to create a short phrase that implied nervousness. For me, this seemed to bring movements inward, quivering, things reaching out and stopping midair…to come in again. I think what we came up with was something quite dynamic. Though it felt like it just skimmed the surface of what we could find, this preliminary exploration was fun, amazing to bounce off another to create movement. I feel a little rusty in creating things, it’s good to stretch those skills again!!
Doing a little bit of research, I found that there’s a take home kit for those who have loved one who have dementia. The kit is aimed at giving the relation and idea of what someone with dementia experiences. A description of this: “Your shoes are filled with popcorn kernels, several fingers are bound together with tape, and your eyes are covered with red goggles. You’re given a list of tasks to do while listening to static on a portable CD player: clear a table set for four, put toothpaste on a toothbrush, switch the TV to channel 4, match six pairs of socks, and loop a belt through a pair of pants.” How do you think you would do? This is going to take time to embody, but it’s a challenge…