ATTITUDES to ageing in a society where people are now living longer will be confronted in a major new exhibition on Tyneside.
The exhibition at the Great North Museum in Newcastle, opening on Wednesday, is inspired by Newcastle University’s Changing Age campaign, which seeks to challenge negative perceptions about older people in society.
Coming of Age; the Art and Science of Ageing explores how and why we age, its effects, and how older people are viewed.
It draws on the work of artists and scientists at Newcastle University’s Institute of Ageing and Health.
Exhibition curator Lucy Jenkins said: “This exhibition is the first of its kind to explore age and the ageing process in depth.
“Its aim is to celebrate the achievement that is our increased life expectancy, but also to encourage people to think about the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities this brings to our society. The university wants to bring areas of research together and show how these are important to wider society.
“One of the big issues for our society is people increasingly living longer and an ageing population.
“Older people are still vibrant and vital individuals and they should not be ignored in the way they often are.
“They have a lot to contribute, with many taking volunteer roles or grandparents helping with child care without which the economy would not function properly.
“But in a society which has become obsessed by youth and appearance, attitudes to ageing are often very negative. I think people are inherently ageist, and it is a prejudice.”
The exhibition celebrates the positives about growing older and the contributions of older people to society, but also examines the downsides, such as diminishing physical and mental abilities.
It features work by artists Andrew Carnie, Annie Cattrell and Jennie Pedley, who worked alongside scientists at the university’s Institute for Ageing.
Andrew produced a slide projection installation revealing the human body as it undergoes the changes of ageing. Lucy said: “The ageing process is not something which just happens to older people. It happens throughout life and, if we are lucky, we will all come to be old.”
Annie Cattrell’s sculptures examine how memory is stored in the brain.
Jennie Pedley’s series of silhouette images films track the day-to-day processes of scientists at the institute and the daily activities of older people.
The exhibition, which runs until March 2, is built around themes of biology, frailty and vitality.
Biology will deal with the biological basis of ageing, why we age and the effects of genetics and the environment on the ageing process.
Artworks will show the physical process of ageing, including Henry Moore’s series of prints The Seven Ages of Man and Nicholas Nixon’s photographs of the Brown sisters, taken annually for more than three decades.
Frailty will explore dementia and age-related diseases and disorders affecting movement, sight and hearing.
Lucy added: “With people suffering from dementia, part of them has been lost but there is still someone inside who has been a vital and vibrant person.”
The section shows how the limitations of ageing can be adapted to and overcome.
The Tate Gallery has loaned the sculpture Mother and Child by Renoir, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, and The Ballet Dancers by Degas, who is thought to have adopted an impressionist style because of failing eyesight.
