Christmas is a time of making memories. But when the mind begins to fade away, as in the case with many of our elderly loved ones, how do families make sense of what remains?
Alaska, in partnership with Noli Alzheimer’s Care Center and MullenLowe Philippines, launched the “Memory Threads” installation - an interactive art exhibit meant to raise awareness about dementia.
Using several hundred meters of yarn, Artist Candace Alipio created a mixed-media installation depicting a mother and her daughter in a Christmas setting.
These figures are built to be torn apart. Visitors are instructed to pull at the threads that make up the knitted sculptures, mimicking how dementia unravels one’s memories. Once all strands are unraveled, a bright red heart hidden inside each figure remains. At this point, the message is clear - in the wake of dementia, memories made with the heart are the ones that stay.
Visitors are encouraged to cut a piece of the thread they’ve unraveled and tie it around their finger: a small reminder to think of the families going through this tough journey.
