Just beyond Drawing

I am a completely self-taught Autistic Artist. I draw how I see the world, every magnified, tiny detail of it. My brain is a bit like picturing a galaxy. A random arrangement of points suspended in some kind of matrix. Imagine having no sense of s p a c e or time, an hour can literally feel the same as one minute. Everything is random, memories and thoughts float about; last week feels the same as ten years ago. There is a breakdown between what my eyes see and what my brain interprets and understands. Most of the time I simply don’t understand the world around me. Life is like trying to peer through a fog. Moving through the world is like standing in front of a screen in fast forward on a video tape. I am standing watching this mass of people, stuff and language zoom past, surrounding me. I often ask myself why people have to go so fast. When I see something, I never see the whole image. Its like my brain doesn’t have enough computing power to cope, so instead it just makes my eyes take things in in small chunks like jigsaw pieces. I see all the tiny details and marks first, a slight shadow across someone’s nose, a freckle on their chin, and slowly all these pieces slip together and I realise I’m looking at a face. When I draw, I draw how I see the world at my pace. Each image is broken down piece by piece and closely examined and drawn. My sincere hope is that when people see my art they stop, feel a sense of escapism, let themselves get lost in each tiny mark flowing together to form a shape and feel the world around them slow down, even just for a second. Peoples lives seem so busy and hectic in todays society, it seems to me that people are missing out on seeing the beautiful tiny details around us. Mental health always influences my art. It is my hope to raise awareness and increase peoples understanding of both Autism and mental health by celebrating seeing the world differently. If my art can help just one person achieve this, then my mission is complete.