11/01/2011 – 05/02/2011
Claire Tindale was special Jury Prize Winner in the 2009 Sheffield Artist’s Book Prize for her book Memory Loss. Claire’s exhibition at Bank Street Arts in February 2011 continued to explore the themes of dementia from her book.
Going Nowhere is an exhibition of interdisciplinary work by artist Claire Tindale, which explores dementia through site-specific installation and art objects. The notion of home and its associated visual language provide the vehicle for the expression of these ideas. The work exploits both juxtaposition and manipulation of objects to investigate the potential of emerging narratives and to convey meaning through symbolism.
One of the side galleries resembles a living room, a personal space normally associated with reassuring familiarity. However, there have been a number of subtle disruptions to this domestic environment. Forget-me-not is a wallpaper design lining the walls, which is multilayered in meaning. In addition to the direct motif of the forget-me-not flower, the design also incorporates medical references to Alzheimers disease, with the visualisation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which are thought to be contributory factors to the disease. Voids in the pattern convey the deterioration caused by the interruptions to the networks in the brain, while the repeat pattern of a wallpaper design further echoes the repetitive nature of the condition.
Other art works then continue to explore the transition from a person’s own home to a residential care home. The use of the miniature reflects the contracting world of a person with the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, both in terms of physical scope and mental functions.
Memory Loss is a limited edition artist’s book and following the Prize, the winning entry was acquired by the Tate collection in London.
Claire Tindale was joint winner of the Jury Prize for her piece ‘Memory Loss’, in the Sheffield Artist’s Book Prize 2009. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally including at The Surface Gallery in Manchester, MoDA (Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture) in Middlesex, the Stroud House Gallery and the Dostoyevsky Museum in St Petersburg.
