Kathleen Holloway

My father-in-law, Terry Holloway, spent the first half of his working life at sea - on paddle steamers, then with the Merchant Navy traveling the world before working as a steward on larger ships such as Queen Mary. After getting married in 1970, these long trips away from home stopped. He became a father to three children and settled down to local work life in Wareham, Dorset.

To scratch his travel itch, he bought a yacht, The Emma Claire, and spent most of the next 50 years sailing around the south coast of England, with occasional trips to France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and The Channel Islands. A few years ago Terry was diagnosed with dementia. As the disease progressed, he became more muddled when talking about recent events, but his memories of being on those boats over the years were still crisp in his mind.

In a person with dementia, the brain's nerve cells become disconnected, degenerate, and die. Patients may no longer be able to perform even the simplest of tasks and get lost in familiar places. They have difficulty following conversations or finding words to express themselves, making connections with the outside world more challenging.

On December 26, 2024, with family by his side, Terry passed away. To honor his life and his struggle with this terrible disease, I photographed many aspects of marine life - from chains and ropes, to seaweed and pebbles on beaches - along the British coastline, then mirrored a single frame, reflecting the image horizontally and vertically, joining them at key points to create a flow as if it were one photograph. My aim is to give the viewer the sense that the familiar has become unfamiliar much in the same way I imagine the world must seem to anyone suffering with dementia.