Artwork Title: Headspace
By: Chris(tabelle) Wang
Dimensions (in inches): 14” x 11” (x3)
Media: India Ink and Acrylic on Illustration Board
Year: 2019
Artist Statement
There is a strong external emphasis on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurodevelopmental condition that is often misunderstood and misrepresented. Many people focus on the visible symptoms and how it negatively impacts others, instead of the internal and invisible elements that affect every aspect of someone's life. ADHD is not just a 'disruptive' young boy unable to sit still during class; it comes in many faces from all walks of life.
Understanding other people is a difficult task. Bridging the gap is especially difficult between people with completely different ways of experiencing the world. Headspace is an attempt to portray how I think as someone with ADHD. My brain can be wildly creative and move lightning-quick between ideas, seeing hidden connections as easily as breathing; it also flounders at the simplest tasks because there is an overwhelming amount of information and what-ifs that other people can ignore.
'Everything and nothing all at once' is the best way I can describe it; the vast and wondrous expanse of the universe can also be a crushingly lonely void. Sometimes I feel like an alien visiting Earth, making my best guess at what the local humans do in order to fit in. My hope is that society will one day accept and understand those who are different, because there is beauty and freedom in embracing neurodiversity.
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