Take Me to Your Moon:
Journeys Into the World of Dementia
Artwork by Tenyoh
Now – November 17, 2024
Visual Arts Center | Contemporary Gallery
The moon’s surface is like a brain with Alzheimer’s disease, in contrast to an image of the Earth as a healthy brain. The course of dementia can be described as a journey from the Earth to the moon, from the familiar to the unknown. *Daisy (pseudonym) shared her journey to the moon with her former art student, Tenyoh. Their collaboration efforts were exhibited at the Prairie Arts Center in North Platte, Nebraska, in 2022. Daisy can no longer create art, but Tenyoh is continuing the series. Through her ongoing interactions with Daisy and people like her, she gains new insights about life, aging and the importance of human connections. She hopes that viewers will be able to relate to the portrayed human responses to the disease. May it in turn embolden the viewers to find their inner strengths!
Tenyoh’s ceramic sculptures are built hollow. After ∆06 bisque and ∆2 stain firings, they are colored in acrylics. Her focus is on capturing subtle emotions.
In Japan, where Tenyoh was born, she studied brush and ink technique. In the USA, she turned her attention to oils. Since she retired from a position as an international healthcare worker in 2012, she has been pursuing a full-time career as a self-taught ceramic sculptor. She is a 2023 recipient of the South Dakota Arts Council’s Fellowship Grant.
In addition to her creativity, Tenyoh teaches clay hand-building through the Artists in Schools and Communities Program and the Creative Aging Program.
*TED Talk: “Reconsider Dementia” by Vibeke Drevsen Bach
Sponsored by:
South Dakota Arts Council support is provided with funds from the State of South Dakota, through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.