My father’s Alzheimer’s disease inspired me to create this piece. I wanted to depict what I imagined was going on in his head during our last conversation. In my mind’s eye, I saw all the neurons connected to each other with delicate elastic rubber strings. Some of them were intact, while others were dried out and broken. These rubber strings represented the communication lines between neurons.
For this sculpture, I used metal threaded rods with aluminum caps to represent the neurons. The colorful rubber strings represent the lines of communication between all neurons. When the brain is young and healthy, the communication lines are strong and elastic, and if one breaks, a new one forms. However, in a compromised brain with Alzheimer’s disease, the connections become broken, dry, and lack the needed elasticity.
This piece features vibrant, colorful, and elastic rubber bands stretched from one point to another, with a few broken connections to represent the impact of time and Alzheimer’s disease on the brain. It’s a visual representation of what I imagined was happening in my father’s head, and a reminder of the importance of brain health.
Material:
Urethane rubber, aluminum, acrylic, and threaded rods.
Size:
25” x 19” x 21” (63 cm x 48 cm x 53 cm)
Technique:
Laser cutting, rubber casting, CNC machining, and assembly.
