A THOUGHT-provoking exhibition that aims to empower people living with dementia is on show at Dorset County Hospital.

The Dorset Memory Cafe’s Magic Carpet exhibition will be at the Dorchester hospital until April 27.

It has been put together by artist, knitter and social events co-ordinator for the Alzheimer’s Society, Cecilia Keedle Isack, who has been working with the society’s Memory Cafe users to knit and crochet a vast patchwork of colourful knitted and crocheted shapes.

The Magic Carpet has been made by people with dementia and their carers as Cecilia tries to raise awareness of the condition and increase understanding among the local community.

She has also introduced people to the concepts of social knitting and yarn-bombing, a type of street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk.

Many people with dementia can lose faith in their creative abilities but when encouraged they realise they can still be creative and regain confidence.

Cecilia said: “The whole point was just to use lots of coloured wool and knitting to highlight dementia and get more publicity for the cause.

“There are lots of people living with dementia in Dorset and we run many groups to help people live well.

“The idea is to show they are still very valued in society and we have done lots of creative projects with them.”

The Magic Carpet itself is a symbol of this liberation of mind and body and aims to show that there are no limitations to what people with dementia can do, especially when supported by creative thinking groups such as the Alzheimer’s Society.

Alongside the Magic Carpet will be a number of images of places it has visited in Dorset, such as the Cerne Giant.