Giusi Scanu

Alzheimer’s: who am I?

21 September – 1 October

An obscure name from which my project comes to life.

A monster that affects 47 million people around the world, one case every 3 seconds.

A monster with a devious face that steals your skin, soul and body.

A monster that slowly took away my father and mother.

Suddenly their voice, their eyes and their smile stopped shining.

Two complete strangers took their place.

Thanks to the camera I was able to get closer to my parents in a different way, entering into their intimacy as I never wanted to do. To exorcise the pain, here was the decision, at the beginning of 2014, to carry out this photographic project, designed to show everyone Alzheimer’s in its daily life.

A daily life made of silence, incomprehensible words, hallucinations and blank stares.

A daily life in which you learn to be afraid and deal with death.

The project consists of 23 photos, each of which is accompanied by a reflection written by us children (Federica, Ilenia, Martina, Simone) to give voice to their thoughts and the emotions they arouse.

The last photo, deliberately in color, represents hope, the idea that, despite pain and suffering, they are always united, held in a single embrace and is followed by a verse taken from the song “Bella d’estate” by Pino Mango, a singer-songwriter very dear to my mother.

For Alzheimer’s Day