How do people in nursing homes experience time? We initially thought it must be boring, with lots of loneliness and repetition, but from December 2016 to March 2017 we did a residency in De Taling in ‘s-Hertogenbosch where we made contact with the residents and staff. Malou got their own badge from Van Neynsel. As a start we used all kinds of old material from the attic to make an awkward moving object, which sparked curiosity and conversation.
Once we settled into our work, we realised many staff members experienced a lot of pressure during their work, in contrast to the older people, who seemed to have all the time in the world. But we were also confronted by our own assumptions because we met elderly people who were super busy with informal care for their partners and personnel who stated they could always make time for small talk and connection.
Due to this insight we founded two associations. The Vereniging Voor Mensen Zonder Tijd (Association For People With Time) and the Vereniging Voor Mensen Zonder Tijd (Association For People Without Time). During a central kick-off event people could become a member, take pictures and receive a brooch with their time indication. Both the elderly and the staff could be a member of either association. This resulted in a more equal relationship between the two groups.
Read more about our experiences on the website from Academie voor Beeldvorming (Dutch).
We always hoped to develop this concept further, but we never found the time.