Solitaire  

Visual investigation into deaths in care homes

Ageism is lethal. Over 22,000 people died between March and May 2020 from COVID-19 in English and Welsh care homes. Solitaire was conceived in response to the shockingly high death rate. The work consists of a large-scale sculpture of the board game Solitaire, photographed and animated.  My version is constructed from chicken wire with pebbles as pieces and has a barbed wire surround. Beach pebbles, like people, have memories - slate, flint, sandstone - all tell a different story. They have been shaped by the storms and tides life has thrown at them.  Solitaire is played alone. As you jump over a piece it is removed from the game, until only one piece remains in the centre. The wire references being trapped in a system.

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