AN innovative exhibition has been staged at a Silsden care home.
The Through Our Eyes initiative used technology to merge current portraits of Springbank residents living with dementia into photographs from their past.
A spokesperson says: "The event featured stunning composite artwork that placed residents as they are in 2026 directly into historical settings, celebrating their lifelong journeys and cherished hobbies.
"Following the exhibition's success, these meaningful photographs will now go on to be given to families and displayed in residents' rooms where appropriate.
"A significant highlight of the event was the presence of multiple generations of families to read about their loved one and view their composite portrait.
"The exhibition featured several powerful scenes that illustrated the deep connection between past and present. One piece showed a lifelong Keighley Cougars rugby league fan as they appear today, seated alongside their younger self in the stands. Another depicted a resident watching from the sidelines as their past self played a match on the football pitch.
"The collection also included poignant professional tributes, such as a resident – as they appeared in former days – treating their present-day self as an NHS nurse at Harrogate Hospital. In another evocative scene, a lady looked into a mirror to see her past self – a fashionable woman balancing the demands of work, family and style. The exhibition further captured moments of lifelong learning and industry, showing a resident sitting in a classroom being taught by their younger self, and another gazing through a window into the past to watch themselves at work in a wartime munitions factory."
Members of the community were also involved.
A representative of a football club attended and reminisced with a resident over historical photographs, and shared stories.
April Howie, deputy manager at Springbank, says: "This project has been a deeply moving journey for everyone involved.
"By merging the present with the past we aren't just creating art, we are creating a powerful tool for empathy that reminds us all of the incredible lives our residents have led.
"It was a privilege to work alongside fantastic corporate partners to make this event even bigger and better for our residents and guests. Specifically, working with Snuggle – which provided a wide variety of foods to complement the event as part of its initiative to give back to the health and social care industry – helped create a truly celebratory environment."
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