Thinking back to what feels like such an age ago now, I can remember still my thoughts in the beginning.
I had very set parameters that I knew I did not wish to waver from, though these were also loose enough to be able to evolve as I progressed and as each new piece of research was discovered.
I knew that I wanted to incorporate prey animals as the central agents to convey my message regarding neurodiversity. I knew what was most important for me to get across in the work, to make people think about and question the perspectives from both sides regardless of which they hail from. I wanted interactivity and use of multiple senses within the work and I already had an idea that an installation was going to be the easiest and best way to achieve this. That and I have made quite a few installations now, all of which have been diverse and successful with creating a dialogue between the viewers and the work itself. I had in mind the image of people reaching in and being able to take and touch something, being able to have part of the artwork, it being shared rather than coveted as an entire piece. That’s a strong theme in my life, I never wish to take to much, in fact the opposite I rarely take enough to get by but I share, I give freely and previous to this I have never done that within my work. I was really keen on this point.
This did not come together immediately into the final Inguz project, I wasn’t sure of how I would construct the pieces, how I would display it, how it would look in spaces. This point in the beginning it was all thoughts, some solid theory’s some ideas which would direct me to the beginning of my research journey.
I had a wide variety of avenues I took via journals, books and the internet on various aspects including: PTSD, Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, PTSD UK charity, Neurodiversity statistics in the UK, effects of colour on neurodiverse people, prey animals of the uk, symbolism, Adinkra symbols, Runes, ancient texts and language, colour theory, masks in cultures across the globe, masking and these are to name just a selection.
It seems both a million years ago and yet with so many aspects in the final work it feels familiar too but it has morphed and changed so much. So many layers have been added to the work as it has evolved, it has become increasingly complex in every last detail. I am happy with this, there is more than just meets the eye, there is more to go back to and see in more than one viewing.
The most important thing I wanted, even at the start of the project was to end with the kind of work that I wish I could have seen in a gallery when I was at my lowest, when I was struggling with my own neurodiversity and where my place was in this world, when I felt alone and a burden. My hope is that just one person looks at this and feels a little more welcome, a little more seen and a little more like they belong. Even better someone may even feel that they can reach out and talk to someone about how they feel.
All positive change starts with a conversation.