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Gaeun Lee
Between the Dots and Lines of Memory
This thesis explores how an interactive installation can communicate early neural changes in dementia to improve public understanding of early detection. In many forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, proteins such as amyloid-beta disrupt communication between neurons. These changes begin long before severe symptoms appear, gradually affecting memory formation and recall.
The installation translates these often invisible processes into an embodied experience. Participants capture an image that represents a moment of memory, which then progressively shifts as they engage with the fiber-optic neuron mobile. The final printed image reflects how neural disruptions accumulate over time, making recall feel incomplete rather than entirely lost.
At the same time, the experience preserves moments of familiarity and emotional connection. Certain feelings and relational traces remain even when details of the memory fade. This challenges the common assumption that dementia results in a complete loss of self, suggesting that aspects of connection can persist in complex and unpredictable ways.
By combining interactive visualization with experiential storytelling, this project demonstrates how design can represent early neural changes while also communicating that memory loss does not necessarily mean the loss of emotional or relational bonds, fostering a more straightforward and empathetic understanding of dementia.
