Professor Catherine Loveday, a neuropsychologist, has harnessed new camera technology and worked with multi-media artists to address pathological memory loss.
At the heart of this ground-breaking multidisciplinary study, there was Claire – a woman who had lost 30 years of memories to amnesia.
The researchers worked alongside Claire to help create a new way to understand memory, in both science and art.
Professor Catherine Loveday and City University psychologist, Professor Martin Conway, asked Claire to record her daily life using Microsoft’s SenseCam, which automatically takes photos every 20 seconds, or in response to movement or light changes.
Working closely with Claire, Loveday and Conway designed an innovative framework for using these photos as visual cues, in a way that dramatically improved Claire’s memory.
“I can’t bring back my old memories just like that,” says Claire, who continues to use this technique daily. “But what I can do is try to preserve my new memories.”
My life belongs to me again.
– Claire, the collaborator in Loveday and Conway’s research on severe memory loss.
Lesions in the landscape
Following the success of the study, Professor Loveday and Professor Conway entered a Wellcome Trust-funded collaboration with multi-media artist Shona Illingworth to further explore the theme of memory loss.
Claire’s contribution of her personal experiences brought the whole project to life, and the end product, Illingworth’s “Lesions in the Landscape” series (2012-16) was highly acclaimed.
Working with Loveday had a “significant impact” on the way she works as an artist, Illingworth says.
Catherine’s research, neurological insight and expertise transformed my understanding of the consequences of amnesia and the central role of memory in our ability to imagine the future.
– Shona Illingworth
Loveday’s “ethical research methods”, Illingworth adds, were essential to the project’s success, as they ensured “Claire maintained her agency throughout”.
“Lesions in the Landscape” and Loveday’s research that supported it, were further put to the test, when they were used in experimental group therapy sessions for dementia sufferers.
Once again, the effects were marked and positive.
The study leaders found the artwork stimuli brought new dimensions to their group dialogue techniques, promoting “self-expression, reflection and communication”.
Watch a video showing images of the Lesions in the Landscape exhibition at FACT on YouTube
The Amnesia Atlas
Professor Loveday and Professor Conway went on to contribute to artist Jill Bennett and programmer Volker Kuchelmeisters’ development of the Amnesia Atlas at University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney.
As users click on different places on the map, this immersive 3D browser pulls up photographs, taken by SenseCam, of that location, in an effort to trigger lost memories.
As with the Illingworth collaboration, the science informs the art, and the art informs the science – demonstrating the innovative thinking behind Loveday’s approach.
The Amnesia Atlas then formed the foundation for Mnemoscape: a study of digital images as memory cues, funded by the Australian Research Council and co-led by Bennett and Loveday.
This is the biggest study to date to test the use of lifelog images and visual memory cues for memory retrieval in the over-65s.
“Memory of Clothes”
Professor Loveday further honed her approach to art-science collaboration in her work with artist Helen Barff and writer Suzy Joinson on 2019’s “Memory of Clothes” exhibition at Worthing Museum.
The exhibition’s art was developed through workshops led by Loveday at care homes, where women recounted their memories of World War Two, as prompted by clothing from Worthing Museum.
“Catherine has greatly deepened my knowledge and understanding in this area,” Barff says. “Particularly in the formation, necessity and function of autobiographical memory as a structure or ‘scaffolding’ for identity.”
These revelations of the science behind memory have had a lasting impact on her work, she explains.
“I now place more emphasis on this in my sculptural work,” Barff says. “The memory, or ‘narrative’ associated with each piece of work is now pivotal to its formation, as if I am reinterpreting each memory in material form.”
Barff also praises Loveday’s empathetic approach to working with the women and her commitment to creating a “beneficial social impact” with her work.
The carers involved in the nursing home workshops, also noted the positive effects the workshops had on the women who took part.
As well as marked improvements in memory, the carers observed a stronger sense of identity and stronger social bonds amongst the participants.
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