The topic of my thesis about Alzheimer‘s disease deals with an 87 year-old woman, who suffers from this disease. In the nursing home, she has a structured daily routine, care and organized, alternating training of memory and recollection. Her daughter visits her every day and spends several hours with her. The question is „What does the woman with the frightened look still notice?“ She would never start a conversation. - Gone too far, she is already in another world.
Simply put, Alzheimer‘s is a result of protein deposits in the brain. The metabolism no longer works reliably here, and thus incoming information is also no longer forwarded properly or used.
Gingerly, I accompanied Mrs. Walther with my camera in her daily life in a nursing home. The Photography not only allows the mapping of the real world, but also leaves room for one‘s own perception and interpretation, which is revealed at the time of recording.
The result is a book of photographic stories with documentary images, which shows Mrs. Walther in everyday moments – for example, combing her hair, sitting in a relaxed atmosphere with other residents of the nursing home, or playing bingo (often turned, as if in her own world). People with dementia cannot pretend, they are more honest because they are no longer aware of a conscious purpose.
Likewise, portraits and snapshots are created, which clearly show the fear in her eyes (the radical honesty) alternating with images, from her perspective. These images give the viewer plenty of room for interpretation. I switched to the position of observing and slipped into her view. I tried to put myself into her „favorite places“, and I imagined how one perceives the environment when it is becoming more and more unrecognizable. - What is familiar, what is not?
These pictures are not a continuation of the classical, conventional reporting photography about life in a nursing home with Alzheimer‘s disease. It is up to the viewer how to read the book, how long one stays on the page and what is seen.
My work is meant to invite: Immerse yourself into the seemingly monotonous, yet interesting world of an Alzheimer patient, who appears both at ease and bizarre.