Brett Armstrong – No Rest for Audrey

Artist: Brett Armstrong

Title of Piece: No Rest for Audrey

About the Piece: This is Audrey.  She was a resident of a rest home I worked at (as an activities coordinator) while I was preparing for a sociological research study of elder care.  She had Alzheimer’s disease.

When we talk about pain, so many issues and interpretations come to our minds.  To me, the private pain – that a growing number of elderly people and their families face – is indicative of wider, societal problems. Like many people who live with chronic, physical pain, it is often an ignored subject.  Pain of this kind is taboo because it is embarrassing, terrifying and incredibly complex.  When it comes time to point a finger, or to lay blame, we have no idea where to start.

Audrey represents the pain being felt all throughout the world right now.  Families are being torn apart by decisions that no one should have to make regarding another person’s life (let alone their parents).  Alzheimer’s disease is an invisible monster that threatens every aged person with a punishment that is almost unimaginable.  In this world of ‘impression management’, egotism and competition, the mere thought of losing one’s sense of self is liken to death. 

With all of our advancements in science and law we have not even come close to finding a solution to the pain brought on by such a natural process as aging.  

About the Artist: I am a social researcher in the area of elder care and aging.  I have recently completed a Masters Thesis on the subject.  Prior to this I worked as an Activities Coordinator at a rest home in Auckland.  This is where the photo was taken.  I chose this photo because it shows the pain associated with being trapped, the pain of separation and the pain that comes from the loss of everything, including the mind.  Audrey reminds me that we are trapped in our bodies, in the social structures that surround us, and in this instance: our minds.