Installation-Preserved Memories
Preserved Memories
– Dr. Betty Ann Brown, art historian, critic and curator
California artist Aazam Irilian has always dealt with time and memory in her artworks. Over the last several years, she cared for her beloved husband as he suffered from dementia. When he went into board and care, she transitioned from lyrical abstract paintings to installation work honoring people devastated by dementia. Irilian’s “Preserved Memories” installation presents the stories of individuals with dementia, giving them voices through the presentation of the objects and images that meant so much to them.
– Diversions LA, Genie Davis; art writer, journalist, curator
Artist Aazam Irilian presents a sensitive, impactful, and beautiful exploration of memory – and how fragile and meaningful our memories are in human life. “Preserved Memories,” her exhibition on the impact and progression of dementia, packed a powerful and poignant punch.
Irilian does not approach her subject uninformed. She was both wife and caregiver to a husband who suffered from dementia. Dealing with both her own and his sense of loss keenly, her work movingly stresses that despite fading memory and a loss of identity itself, the afflicted person will not fade from our own memories and hearts. The exhibition is important not just to Irilian personally but to so many, with the strong possibility that by the year 2050, those 65 and older suffering from Alzheimer’s are estimated to reach the daunting number of 12.7 million
Irilian does not approach her subject uninformed. She was both wife and caregiver to a husband who suffered from dementia. Dealing with both her own and his sense of loss keenly, her work movingly stresses that despite fading memory and a loss of identity itself, the afflicted person will not fade from our own memories and hearts. The exhibition is important not just to Irilian personally but to so many, with the strong possibility that by the year 2050, those 65 and older suffering from Alzheimer’s are estimated to reach the daunting number of 12.7 million affected individuals.
– Genie Davis; Art writer, journalist
Artist Statement
Memories are precious so we try to hold on to them for as long as we can. Memories become even more precious when a disease robs the individual of their memories. Alzheimer’s dementia tears the individual’s fabric of being—carving into and killing brain cells. By 2050, the number of people 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is estimated to grow from 6.5 million to a projected 12.7 million (alz.org).
Preserving our memories is essential to our well-being. For those who are battling this irreversible disease, it becomes our responsibilities to preserve memories for ourselves and our loved ones. It is also important for us to bring attention to this disease, to educate and inform others. As a wife of an individual suffering from Alzheimer’s I take this responsibility very seriously.
Preserved Memories is a special installation project in honor of my husband and all those suffering Alzheimer’s dementia. As an artist I do not limit myself to one medium. It is the concept that guides the creation process and the medium used. Preserved Memories is comprised of drawings, assemblage sculptures, family photographs and recorded stories of shared experiences.
The exhibition includes drawings of stylized figures filled with brain cells on panels of Pelon fabric represent the inner changes that the individual goes through. Altered family photographs demonstrate the individual fading away from our lives. Sculptural assemblages of personal and meaningful belongings tell stories of family members that have lost their memories. Recorded stories told by loved ones share precious memories that they will hold dear for the rest of their lives. Visitors are welcome to share new stories in writing that will become part of future exhibitions.
