Voices of the Elders: Illuminating the Forgotten Voices of Australia’s Older Adults and More-than-Human Elders
About
The recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Pagone & Briggs, 2021)) uncovered a discouraging reality: the current state of the Australian aged care system raises serious concerns about neglect and care problems. These concerns are mirrored in the feelings experienced by older adults in care, such as invisibility, marginalization, isolation, abandonment, disconnection, and depression. Tragically, these pressing issues that need urgent attention are barely acknowledged by both aged care services and contemporary Australian society. The disastrous blindness of neglect of our human elders in the age care situation parallels that of the planet’s more-than-human inhabitants – the elders and guardians of the earth – the ancient, endangered landscapes, and animal and plant species.
This project seeks to make all the elders’ voices visible and audible by using the arts practice of projection mapping on Australia’s native and endangered trees. In conjunction with interactivity, the project aims to create a deep connection between the community and our valued older citizens (human and more than human), and aged care communities. The soul of this artistic project is the rich tapestry of voices and memories shared by the elderly residents of aged care facilities – their precious memories interwoven with the embrace of nature and the complex emotions associated with living in such facilities.
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The current situation is a call for social and environmental justice, a challenge to make the voices of the human and more-than-human heard. The project links these two groups of elders in two ways: first, through an identified similarity in which both are regarded by our society – both are marginalized, unseen, unheard, isolated, hidden and forgotten; second, there is an experience of Solastalgia, emotional displacement, and distress. The project will contribute understanding into the use of interactive projection mapping artworks for engaging audiences with these unheard voices and invisible issues.
At its core, the concept of Solastalgia is the act of mourning for lost nature and home, outlined by Albrecht in 2005 and 2006 and further developed by several researchers (Cunsolo Ashlee & Landam Karen, 2017). Solastalgia artfully bridges the gap between the world’s oldest inhabitants and its oldest landscapes, both of which are too often silenced and relegated to the shadows of collective memory. In this way, it inspires a touching reflection on the enduring values embodied in our common roots as human beings.
The Voices of the Elders project uses practice-based methods to draw attention to these concerns, creating interactive mapping projection installations that inspire empathy in the public and remind our society that we need to protect, respect, nurture and promote the well-being of elders on earth. This project is part of Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant, and it is in response to the findings of the Royal Commission on Aged Care in Australia. It aligns with the Design for Health stream within the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Design Lab Research Centre.
Team
References:
Albrecht, G. (2005). ‘Solastalgia’. A New Concept in Health and Identity. PAN: Philosophy Activism Nature, 3, 41–55.
Albrecht, G. (2006). Solastalgia. Alternatives Journal (AJ) – Canada’s Environmental Voice, 32(4/5), 34–36.
Albrecht, G. (2019). Earth Emotions: New Words for a New World. Cornell University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctvfc5563
Cunsolo Ashlee, & Landam Karen (Eds.). (2017). Mourning Nature: Hope at the Heart of Ecological Loss and Grief. McGill-Queen’s University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1w6t9hg
Pagone, T., & Briggs, L. (2021). Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety Final Report—Care, Dignity and Respect (1–5). Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/final-report