PORTFOLIO: INTO SILENCE

In the spring of 1995 I began to photograph my grandmother, Marjorie Clarke, on my weekly visits to her home in the farmland of Maryland. By this time, Alzheimer's disease was already loosening her ties to everyday reality. 

Over the next two years, both her phusical body and her mental capacity rapidly disintegrated leaving her frustrated and depressed as her mind became wrapped in a haze of confusion. In a jumble of faces, with a mind that no longer worked, Marjorie slowly gave up and let herslef slip into the silence. She passed away in January of 1997. 

The following images are perceptions of her experience and of our time together. The loss of order and cohesion of thought that marks Alzheimer's is profound and crushing. These images speak of this despair and of the unraveling of everyday connection.