It’s wonderful to see our members’ artistic talents getting the recognition they deserve, you can read the article in full here…

Tony Flower writes

Following the completion of the Talkback My Autistic Self Group, members were invited to join other socially engaging offerings at Talkback.

Our second art exhibition last year took place at Milton Keynes Central Library, which gave our members a platform to express their voices and artistic talents. Recurring themes of autism, mental health and identity were embedded throughout the exhibition.

Creating these opportunities for our members encourages self-expression and empowerment so that they are valued and seen. The works and words that follow were created by some of the exhibiting artists.

You Don’t Look Autistic – Kelly’s words:

“This piece is made of portraits of autistic people, animated to shift into each other fluidly. The portraits are drawn in an almost continuous line art style. Continuous line to really look like the shifting of a line drawing, and ‘almost’ to fight and illustrate my struggle with perfectionism.

“I made this piece to challenge preconceptions of Autistic people having a certain ‘look’. We deal with a lot of stereotypes and stigma from society. Often when you disclose being autistic to someone, the first response you receive is that ‘you don’t look autistic’ which can be frustrating and invalidating. For me, it furthered my struggle with self-doubt and my self-identity, as I didn’t relate to the stereotype. This piece is my response to that and brings some insight into my journey as a late-diagnosed, high-masking autistic.”

You say I don’t look Autistic, But what does that really mean? No, I’m not Rain Man, I’m not a curious incident causing a scene.

I’m just a person, Who finds processing the world tough. Isn’t that alright? Why must I prove if I’m Autistic enough?

You may cringe at the word Autistic, But the name set me free. Before I always wondered, What was wrong with me?

That feeling of complete despair, I remember with each pass of air.

Autism does not have a look, It’s the way you feel inside, More fear, more feeling, more input, Which a lot of us try to hide.

But Autism is not a disease, It brings challenges, yes, but in time, You can finally get to know yourself, Your loves, talents and the things which make you shine.

All these people are Autistic, Not one shape, one form, one size. We are all wildly different people, With nothing to disguise.

Zipped up, Locked Up – the artist C’s words:

“This piece represents my view of autism.

“The cotton wool balls represent my brain being overloaded every day with thoughts of work, appointments, money, and everyday obstacles.

“Locked in a mind, full of different emotions and feelings. Feelings of boredom, fatigue, and anger. Crying without knowing why, leads to feelings of frustration.

“If you could put a visual on autism, this would be my face. The darkness represents not being understood. Society’s lack of understanding. Having to go ‘undercover’ and masking who I truly am to fit in.

“The eyes are emotional struggles with masking. I have to mask every day at work and when out in the community. It’s tiring mentally and physically. I am constantly tired. A constant feeling of walking through a revolving door that doesn’t let you get off.

“I want people to see the struggle through my eyes.

“The zipped mouth represents the feeling of no one really understanding when I try to explain my emotions. When feeling like this, all I have left is silence, unable to speak.

“My hands are heavy. Heavy from my overloaded brain full of my thoughts and emotions in a world that doesn’t allow you to feel included.

“People have told me to ‘grow up and get on with it, you’re an adult.’

“I say I’m perfect how I am.”

Reflections tree

Made by two of our talented Talkback members. This project allowed Jordan & Karen to practice and develop their creative skills in a work environment.

With support from Talkback staff, they directed and led the project to create this unique tree, which was the centrepiece of the exhibition. Visitors were encouraged to write their reflections and hang them on the tree to contribute to the artwork and overall exhibition.

Some of the words on the hangers, included:

‘I feel seen by this display dedicated to autism. Thank you.’

‘Incredible art! … keep being you!’

‘Absolutely brilliant piece of work about autism. I now know I am neurodivergent, having to live as a neurotypical. I wonder how I coped with life, especially having a diagnosis when I was 49.’

‘Poignant, Reflective, Informative.’

‘Thank you so much for making these incredibly powerful pieces of work.’

‘Love all the work here. Speaks to me – I suffer depression, and I loved reading your stories and enjoying your work.’

‘I came here just to have a look. Didn’t realise just how much I’d be touched xx’

‘This art speaks to me deep down. Well done for expressing so much through art. x’

‘Some wonderfully creative and thought-provoking work. A joy to walk around and look at! Thank you!’

Regulation – the artist’s words:

“This piece is about a deep-rooted feeling of unease. Every moment of living as an autistic adult is a textured, unplanned mess, no matter how little you have to do or how often you put all your energy into keeping it mundane, peaceful, and accommodating.

of course; however, being ‘wired’ differently always comes at a cost, that being my mental health. I mainly just wanted to make this piece as messy as possible to represent that, using rustic colours and repetitive strokes, those being interrupted and making everything a bigger mess than it was before. No matter how simple something is, it’s easy to spiral.

“I really wanted to emphasise that dragging, grating feeling that comes with basically never feeling comfortable because your body can’t regulate itself without extra energy or accommodations. I suppose it depends on how fully you have assimilated into your identity as an autistic person.”

 

The Cat – the artist’s words:

“I have always loved games, puzzles and patterns and expressing myself through art and writing poetry. All things that don’t require me to be interactive with anyone other than myself, getting lost in the moment, hyper-focusing on my creation at hand.

doorway to the outside world, a way to fit in and seem normal. I love that there are really no rules when it comes to expressing myself through art or poetry.

“I use a variety of mediums in my work, with a reoccurring theme of using fragmented materials. Making something beautiful out of something broken. Order out of chaos. I have learnt piece by piece, how to become whole, learning to love and accept my differences and uniqueness.”