The walls of a Footscray aged care facility are now much brighter and more interesting thanks to images of local landmarks that have been mounted on them.
The Footscray train line, the skyline behind the Maribyrnong River and flowers from the Williamstown Botanic Gardens are among the places featured in 12 large photos that have been hung throughout the Doutta Galla aged care home on Geelong Road.
The photos are the idea of Footscray resident and Doutta Galla volunteer, Sarah Littleton, who remembered seeing something similar when she used to visit her nanna at an aged care home in Geelong.
“The facility had huge photos of landmarks from Geelong and surrounds – and I noticed that the residents would point to the images and say ‘hey a grew up near there’ or ‘I remember visiting there’. I thought it was a really powerful form of art in an aged care facility particularly for people dealing with memory loss.”
As the photos have gradually appeared at Doutta Galla Footscray throughout this year, Ms Littleton has noticed a similar impact.
“Residents were talking about the photos from day one,” she said.
“Some residents were also telling stories about their experiences with some of the landmarks.
“The photos are already showing how powerful imagery can be to take people who may be suffering from dementia to a happier place.”
Ms Littleton is one of a number of volunteers at Doutta Galla Footscray who spend an hour or two there every two weeks.
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