The Progression of Dementia, Irina Teske
The Progression of Dementia is a group of 25 linocuts on paper prints, matted and framed that hang in a five by five print square. Based on medical imagery of the brain, the ink colours used are blue, yellow and orange and they are all on black paper.
Title: The Progression of Dementia
Artist: Irina Teske
Date: 2020
Medium/Materials: Printmaking
Dimensions: 25 prints, 25.5 cm x 20.5 cm each, 140 cm x 140 cm total
Form/Genre: Print series
Key Terms/Subject/Tags: Medical imaging; Brain; Aging
Artist Statement:
The relationship between the image and how art is made serves as the foundation of Irina Teske’s art practice. By emphasizing what is unique to reductive printmaking, she is able to explore two different diseases that have affected her family, offering her a way to process the experience of having breast cancer and watching someone she loves change and deteriorate with dementia.
Though The Progression of Dementia series seems to use a lot of identical images, closer examination reveals the differences inherent in printmaking that echo the progression of brain deterioration. The mistakes often made during the printing process, when alignment isn’t perfect, or areas are not fully removed, leave “chatter,” which becomes part of the image, echoing the distortion and shakiness that are such a large part of this neurological disease.
Cultural Context / Story Behind the Work:
Created while Teske's father was dying of dementia in a long-term care home.
Rights for this Image:
This digital image is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. You are free to share it for non-commercial purposes, as long as you credit the artist.
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