SMI100, Butterfly Brain - On Gossamer Wings

Textile Mixed-media

41.5 x 41.5 cm Framed

By Gillian Smith

A unique textile mixed-media using pen and stitch in greyscale on a watercolour background, with 3D butterflies laminated and hand-painted on silk. Presented in a deep, white memory box frame.
This piece is dedicated to those who suffer from Dementia or Alzheimer's and their loved ones.
Dementia is massively transformative, that thief of memories, robber of personality, increasingly leaves the sufferer isolated and lost in a wilderness of confusion, fear and frustration. This condition is progressive and persistent, affecting everyday life and causing a shortening concentration span - hence the title, ' Butterfly Brain'. Memory loss is a distressing part of dementia, for both the sufferer and the people who love them.
Here, I have used butterflies, the symbol of transformation, to represent the escaping memories, 'on Gossamer Wings'. Memories are unique to each of us, the lingering residue of life experience, which inform decisions, choices and attitudes and form our personalities. The butterfly species used are specific to the sufferer's life experiences: places travelled, loved ones and childhood - a life lived.