Neurotypicals

The work here is the culmination of my Major Project for my Masters Degree in Photographic Studies at the University of Westminster.

Neurotypical (noun): A person with no autistic traits.

Night has fallen and clarity has been placed upon the shackles of the multisensory, sociable world we, as human beings, are forced to inhabit. Alone, away from the bright lights of society that dot the valley below, the ability to breathe, to think clearly, injects veracity into a life infected by ambiguity - the serenity of darkness emancipates the mind. 

As darkness falls, the neurotypical’s sense of sight is severely impaired. Blind to obvious obstacles they stumble and collide with surrounding foliage. An impending threat of psychosomatic malevolence initiates their inherent fight or flight mechanism and masks all rational thought. An irrepressible desire to flee to a world with which they conform eradicates any adherence to social expectations within this environment.   

Social signifiers, determining how we interact with others, constantly rule our lives. When dampened or lost all together, the ability to communicate is compromised. Those on the autistic spectrum will often generate coping strategies to deal with a world into which they do not conform. Darkness can be a healer as hypersensitivity is quelled and isolation from social situations calms an over stimulated mind. 

‘Neurotypicals’ juxtaposes everyday experiences of the socially proficient and the socially anxious. Displaced in the darkness, the feelings of those without autistic traits are mirrored by those on the spectrum when placed in social situations. The work highlights the transient parallels between neurological ability and disability, looking in upon the neurotypical as they come to terms with an alternative way of interpreting the world.