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This poem about dementia through Alzheimer’s disease is structured through the use of a memory game. There’s a series of tiles with question marks that flip when selected, displaying an iconic image, text, or brief animation, accompanied by a question, usually about the person’s identity. Whenever you match a counter with the right one, it disappears until you complete the level. The game mechanics serve the dual purpose of encouraging readers to pay more careful attention to the work, while performing an activity (timed, no less) that evokes Alzheimer’s memory tests. As the work progresses in its 6 levels, the user name you choose from the list of options becomes heartbreakingly visceral as you realize what is happening to relationships with the increasingly ill character.
In this, as in her other works, Wilks shows a talent for creating simple interfaces that enhance the meaning and emotional impact of her poems.
Featured in ELO 2012 Media Art Show, & Avenues of Access
