Lauren Roush
Email: roushlau@grinnell.edu
I'm interested in my nightly routine and the urgency I feel to return home from Grinnell before it gets dark. This is partially due to the dangers commuting on Highway 6, such as deer or icy roads, but also because I want to see my loved ones before I go to bed. The urgency I feel to return home when the sun sets reminds me of the anxiety and irritability of the individuals that I have worked with exhibit around the same time. I have worked for disabled adults and children for around 6 years and some of that time was spent working with dependent adults with dementia. I have had Alzheimer's and dementia training and have worked in a facility that had a "locked unit."
Dementia causes a phenomenon known as "sundowning." Symptoms caused by dementia increase throughout the day and get worse as the sun goes down. Persons served with dementia will often become confused, disoriented, agitated, and often even combative when the sun sets. The individuals I worked with would often urgently insist that they needed to "go home" as dusk set in. Although the assisted living facilities and nursing homes house these individuals, they are not home—home is where their loved ones are, or at least once were.
For my project I want to convey the feeling of returning somewhere to connect with loved ones before night takes over. I will make at least one monotype print of my own personal genre scene. After, I will scan the monotype and print it on some sort of clear material—possibly mylar. The clear print will become the face of the box I make to fit around the headlights of my car. As the light from the headlights shine through the monotype print, the image will project onto whatever is in front of my car. The viewers will be invited to sit in my car to experience the installation--the same seat I sit in every evening as I travel home to loved ones.
Email: roushlau@grinnell.edu
I'm interested in my nightly routine and the urgency I feel to return home from Grinnell before it gets dark. This is partially due to the dangers commuting on Highway 6, such as deer or icy roads, but also because I want to see my loved ones before I go to bed. The urgency I feel to return home when the sun sets reminds me of the anxiety and irritability of the individuals that I have worked with exhibit around the same time. I have worked for disabled adults and children for around 6 years and some of that time was spent working with dependent adults with dementia. I have had Alzheimer's and dementia training and have worked in a facility that had a "locked unit."
Dementia causes a phenomenon known as "sundowning." Symptoms caused by dementia increase throughout the day and get worse as the sun goes down. Persons served with dementia will often become confused, disoriented, agitated, and often even combative when the sun sets. The individuals I worked with would often urgently insist that they needed to "go home" as dusk set in. Although the assisted living facilities and nursing homes house these individuals, they are not home—home is where their loved ones are, or at least once were.
For my project I want to convey the feeling of returning somewhere to connect with loved ones before night takes over. I will make at least one monotype print of my own personal genre scene. After, I will scan the monotype and print it on some sort of clear material—possibly mylar. The clear print will become the face of the box I make to fit around the headlights of my car. As the light from the headlights shine through the monotype print, the image will project onto whatever is in front of my car. The viewers will be invited to sit in my car to experience the installation--the same seat I sit in every evening as I travel home to loved ones.
I am considering sound for my
installation and have been pondering what sounds I should incorporate. I make nightly
“check-in” calls to my family members to see how their day was, if they made
supper, etc. I am entertaining the idea of recording these nightly
conversations—complete with the sounds of my car and the road as I drive
home—to play through my car speakers. This will be an acoustic addition to my
projection of my family members.
