the scientist
Speyers, the Netherlands (2026)
"Well, she used to have a carefree mind of her own
And a delicate look in her eye
These days, I’m afraid she’s not even sure
If her name is Veronica".
'Veronica' by Elvis Costello is a tribute to his grandmother and to the young girl she once was. It is a song about forgetting a loved one, about a person slowly forgetting herself, even her own name. It explores her gradual slipping into the Alzheimer’s disease.
Neurons form networks of connections that enable a dance of signals. In Alzheimer’s disease, these connections begin to disappear, and the network becomes fragmented. This is why memories can seem “lost”, yet sometimes return unexpectedly. After the loss of communication and connection, the neuron itself eventually disappears. Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative brain disorder, accompanied by cognitive decline and behavioural changes, as echoed in 'Veronica'.
At its core, this art piece is about neurons, and a single neuron is depicted on this golden pump. The shoe was designed and crafted for a distinguished British neuroscientist on the occasion of receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the gala dinner of the UK BioIndustry Association.