Portrait of a Brain commission!
A still from a VR proof of concept.
This iteration of the work will be an installation in acrylic and light, of a single cognitive portrait. A celebration and commemoration of a neuro-divergent life.
This work is a celebration and exploration of the uniqueness of our human brains. No reference is made to external appearance.
This image shows two individual cognitive portraits. The overlapping coloured disks represent a radar graph of cognitive ability, the additive colours making up white light towards the centre, and the individuality expressed by way of the colour revealed at the edges.
Each person’s cognitive profile is unique to them, with the 20% of the population who are Neuro-divergent (autistic, ADHD, Tourettes, Dyslexics, Dyspraxics, DCD, Dyscalculics) typically displaying a so called ‘spikey’ profile of abilities, in comparison to the more regular distribution of skill set in Neurotypical people.
The more Neuro divergent the individual, the more colour we are likely to see in this representation, rather than white.
https://www.acamh.org/freeview/developmental-coordination-disorder-professor-amanda-kirby/(this data work was done by Prof Amanda Kirby, who is CEO and founder of Cardiff based organisation ‘DO-It profiler’)
Represented in this way, the shapes that form from the data points overlap to create a kaleidoscope of colour as they move adjacent to each other. This formation illustrates the complementary and intersectional quality of cognitive ‘thinking’ styles amongst groups of people. It offers an expansive paradigm for understanding human individuality and inter-relational possibilities.
This piece is envisaged as a celebration of the power of cognitive difference and the intersection of skills working together. Specifically, it is a celebration of the value of Neurodiversity amongst a population. And it is a celebration and commemoration of an individual neuro-divergent woman.