On display at a new London exhibition, the artist’s evocative work helps us explore the impact of dementia.
Artist Carey Bennett, whose latest exhibition, titled Memory and Remedy, is now on show at the Museum of Brands in London.
Carey’s screenprinted artworks depict vivid recollections of everyday brands such as Vicks, Dettol and Lucozade, offering an exploration of the impact of dementia by visualising the concept of losing grasp on lucidity.
In this way, they consciously echo the glitches and degeneration of thoughts by dementia sufferers while celebrating the importance of both consistency and change.
Comment on dementia
“Memory and Remedy offers an exploration of the impact of dementia,” the artist explains. “Using the subject matter of consumer brands in our daily lives, the exhibition seeks to celebrate the mundane while inviting viewers to reflect on the interconnectedness of memory, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit.”
Importantly, this is not merely an academic exercise. Carey’s evocative pieces are inspired by her own personal associations with childhood sickness and at-home remedies given to her by her parents.
In this light, each product represented in her prints illustrates a snapshot, commemorating the mundane and celebrating small moments of life.
Now that both her parents have dementia, the caregiving roles are reversed, but the objects continue to be remedial to their relationship, even as the brands evolve.
Bold and vibrant
Beginning her career as an illustrator, Carey has worked for a range of clients across TV, publishing, advertising, and design, she has been commissioned by companies such as MTV, Absolut Vodka, National Lotto and Volvo. As an artist, work is recognised for its bold and vibrant colour palette and integrated typography.
Her work closely relates to the Museum of Brands’ Living Brands programme, which uses everyday heritage products as memory aids for those living with dementia. The project reached over 86,000 people in the first two years through creative reminiscence and at-home resources, establishing nostalgia as an emotional prompt for improved well-being.
Visit the show
If you haven’t been, The Museum of Brands is well worth a visit in general. This unique institution provides an evocative insight into how everyday lives have changed over the past 200 years through the development of consumer brands. With Cadbury’s and Colman’s Mustard rubbing shoulders since the mid-Victorian era, a variety of popular brand histories can be followed through the permanent Time Tunnel exhibition.
Meanwhile, several of the heritage brands which Carey has selected for her prints, such as Lucozade, Guinness and Rose’s Lime Cordial, are represented in the Brand Histories exhibition running concurrently in the Museum’s Branding Hall space.
“Not only does Carey’s subject matter strike to the core of what we aim to achieve with our project, the artworks themselves are part of a beautiful and evocative exhibition that can appeal to all visitors,” says Flo Unwin, living brands development assistant at The Museum of Brands.
“The artistic narrative of Memory and Remedy will offer visitors a chance to reframe their own understanding of the collection. While products evolve, their status as household brands and associated memories remain, ready to be shared with many more generations to come.”
