Rasa Sayang

Alyssa Aziz

 Coming to understand how lonely and disorientating Alzheimer’s disease can be, and is, it became my priority to connect with and attempt to rejuvenate my Grandpa’s outgoing spirit.
 
Throughout life he’s always been determined and adventurous. He left Malaysia at 19 to travel the world to disprove stigmatising language from  his Encyclopaedia Britannica which characterised his fellow countrymen as ‘lazy and indolent’. Hidden within the corners of his current home and overgrown garden, I visually reflected on the duality of his current confinement to the boundaryless life previously lived.
 
We discovered how powerful music can be, with its unique ability of activating the brain. Music provided us with a new form of non-verbal communication, relying on sounds and rhythms. Nothing compares to the first time I saw my Grandpa’s face light up after reconnecting with an old Malaysian Folk Song. It elicited sparks of emotions and provided him a new range of movement. The folk song, Rasa Sayang, translates as ‘a loving feeling’. Encapsulating the exact sentiment I aimed to create and to encourage others to seek with loved ones.