I stumbled upon a beautiful quote online that made me think of found object art: “I am a mosaic of everyone I’ve ever loved.” I think about the ways places, people, experiences have impacted me. I carry them with me. The physical objects I own and have collected over the years all have a story and a memory attached to them. I decided to use jewelry I have collected over the years: a necklace my dad made for me out of wire and a shoelace, my old cross necklace my mom found, a locket of my family I wore when I went to boarding school as a 13 year old, a string of Dinka beads from South Sudan, a collection of bracelets from my first prom. These were objects that have served as transitional objects for me over the years. Brooker discusses how found object art is about the magic of everyday objects and the old and new meaning we attach to them (Brooker, 2010).
I found it difficult to be able to part with these objects by transforming them into an installation or a permanent piece. I enjoyed the freedom to collect the objects together, freeze the image in time through photography, then take it apart again. It felt like a living collage or scrapbook. A way to memorialize for a moment. Even though it was not permanent, the act of gathering and integrating fragmented memories from my past gave me a sense of cohesion.
I wondered if this would be a useful intervention for older adults with neurocognitive disorders. End of life is a stage where people are processing their lives and memories, but this is complicated as individuals begin to loose their memories and people and things that once felt familiar. Symbolically, found object art involves creating new meaning from displaced objects. If adults are in nursing homes or assisted living they may have been displaced physically from the places and objects they find familiar in addition to loosing memory. Working with objects provides a tactile, sensory experience that can help ground people in the present moment. Working in the here and now to integrate disconnected, solid objects can provide a sense of control and even a momentary sense of cohesiveness. Found object art also provides an affective, perceptual experience as objects bring back or bring up memory, association, and feeling.
Reference:
Brooker, J. (2010). Found objects in art therapy. International Journal of Art Therapy, 15(1), 25-35.