Single Yellow Lines: is it science, is it art, or is it both?

I spent an afternoon at the Balance Lab at University College London, which is usually used for patients with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders, neurological movement disorders. And I met a man with an unusual form of dementia, PCA, posterior cortical atrophy. And Edward Osmotherly, a really delightful man, was hooked up to a number of monitors and was asked to go and paint a yellow line on a canvas. And he did this many times for us and for the team there. And the point of it was partly to see just what somebody– people who have PCA often have problems in how their perception of the outside world– so maybe walking across the street and recognising faces– spatial awareness can be a problem.

And part of the research is trying to work out what people with PCA– how they perceive the simple thing of painting a yellow line across a canvas. So he did that many times for us. And I also spoke to Charlie Harrison, who’s artist in residence here at Created Out of Mind, and asked him, what is the point of this? And in a sense, it’s one of those things, it’s kind of blue sky. We don’t really know what it’s going to tell us until later on because they’ve done this experiment with a lot of people, and they’ve also done it with people who are unaffected, with healthy controls.

But it’s a crossover I think between art and science, where you’re in a science lab and yet as soon as you dip a brush into a paint pot and then apply it onto a canvas, it then becomes art in a way that almost any other experiment wouldn’t. So is it art? Is it science? Or is it a bit of both? And I’m still pondering that. But it was wonderful talking to Edward, and there was a wonderful point with him because he was a very amusing chap– telling jokes and talking about the sort of problems that he was having. And I said, well, what are the key issues for you when it comes to dealing with dementia?

And he said, I have three points. And my heart always sinks when somebody says they have three points because we normally get to two and then the third one might get lost. So he said, “The first point is we need more research. And the second point is we need greater awareness of dementia. And the third point I’ve forgotten because I’ve got dementia.” And he burst out laughing and everybody in the room burst out laughing, and that is what I’m talking about, some of the humour that can be retained and the positive attitude that can help. Now I’m not in any sense trying to undermine what is a most dreadful condition.

But it was lovely meeting somebody who still retained a very positive attitude to life despite a progressive condition that was taking gradually away his mind.