The Long Goodbye

Anton Dolfo-Smith

The Long Goodbye reflects the last seven years of journeying with my dad through dementia. The paintings represent my own attempts to understand both what I was witnessing and experiencing, and to accept the gradual yet excruciating loss that came with saying goodbye to my father. Each section of this exhibit reflects my attempt to understand a different stage of my father’s dementia. These paintings reflect literal aspects of him, such as excerpts from his sermons and imagery from beloved artists, alongside the more esoteric colours, shapes, and patterns that characterize my memory and experience of my father.