Pat: End of life Drawings by Norman Gilbert
Projects
This is a very special book of drawings edited by the artist Mark Gilbert. The drawings were made by Mark’s father, the Scottish painter Norman Gilbert.
Mark Gilbert has worked as artist in residence at the Royal London Hospital in England, where he worked on portraits of patients undergoing maxillofacial surgery.
Mark’s PhD research focussed on the relationship between the humanities and medicine. This book is a further reflection on this relationship.
The Dementia Services Development Trust was pleased to sponsor the production of the book with the support the Professor Kenneth Rockwood, a leading international authority on frailty and professor of medicine (geriatric medicine and community health & epidemiology) at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia. Prof Rockwood is also the Kathryn Allen Weldon Professor of Alzheimer Research. He has written an introduction to the text.
Norman Gilbert created twenty-five drawings of his wife, Pat Gilbert, as she lay dying following an Alzheimer’s-related stroke. Norman, who was ninety-one at the time, had drawn Pat regularly over their sixty-five year marriage. One week after Pat died, Norman was interviewed by a family friend to chronicle his reflections on the drawings.
There is a link to a BBC programme of Norman talking about the drawings and an exhibition at the Tatha gallery here. You can also see the video below.
What was initially a private experience has been transformed into a shared understanding of the end of life and bereavement. The book is available for purchase here.
Scottish Artist, Norman Gilbert-Drawings of his late wife, Pat.
Scottish Artist, Norman Gilbert-Drawings of his late wife, Pat.
Other Projects
The Power of Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney comes in to play at a point in life that can be challenging for all involved.
Dementia the Radical Agenda
The DSDT has been working in Northern Ireland for ten years, and in this film the team spend time in Belfast talking about what has happened so far, and what still needs to happen.
Take me with you
This story is largely a tribute to the work of the people who work in and who manage care homes.