Virginia Hodgkinson, Reacquaintance: A Series of Portraits Looking Beyond A Label
Our first exhibition in our new space - Big Boom, 5 Rutland St, Newtown.
Over the past 18 months I have had the privilege of being welcomed into the lives of eleven wonderful people and their families, through the Memory Support Unit at Baptcare in Wyndham. A group of people whose diagnosis can alter their value in our community.
Dementia is not the focus of my project though, the emphasis for me is entirely the on person: their uniqueness, their contribution, their history.
Spending time with each individual during the initial drawing sessions was very special. Sometimes a reacquaintance was necessary but often I felt a connection with that person that remained a constant.
I understand that the families have to also reacquaint with the individual in some form or another as the condition progresses, but the true spirit of that person always remains.
'I hope that everyone who views these paintings and drawings can look beyond the diagnosis and let the works tell their own story.'