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Disability Arts Cymru

Booker T Skelding: ‘Odyssey’

Art

Audio Description

My art piece is a two dimensional, monochrome, photographic image, named Odyssey. It is of portrait format and just under a metre tall. The image shows two thirds of the lower half of a closed external wooden door which is a tongue and groove, shed style, type door. The door is weathered, showing signs of rot and decay. At the bottom of the door, reaching out from underneath, a pair of hands can be seen between the gap below and the concrete slabbed floor. The left hand is reaching out slightly further than the right, the fingers are stretched out in a tense manner. The finger nails are short and the knuckles show wear and tear of a middle aged person, the left hand shows some ageing spots and a ring is worn on the middle finger. The wrists are covered by a worn semi-opaque, long-sleeved top, which appears to be oversized and too long in arms length, the material is of a raw natural hessian type cloth. The hands look strong and determined.

The image has a gritty, textured appearance, showing layers of peeling varnish. To the left of the door you can see it is framed by old porous brickwork. The monochrome edit amplifies the ageing of the door, highlighting the natural grain and knots.

Situated half way up the door on the left hand side is a silver type chrome, metal sliding bolt and latch, which is in the locked position, to the bottom right a rusted, decaying t-hinge suggesting the door would open outwards to the right.

The monochrome edit portrays strong black and white tone, resulting in the dynamic range creating an almost 3D effect.

I am an award winning contemporary photographer who identifies as neurodivergent and LGBTQ. My photography documents what is happening around me, current affairs, changes and losses not only personally but also within communities. Through my work I hope to make a connection with the audience.

I am a Welsh speaker and to me ‘Aildanio’ means a fresh start, a second chance, a re-start of new beginnings.

The final year of my BA Photography Degree took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges of being neurodivergent and having to adjust to ‘Zoom’ lectures and mentoring, I achieved a First Class Honours. Graduating against all the odds gave me such confidence and feeling fired up to make my photography a success.

A combination of graduating, accompanied with my late diagnosis of autism unlocked and opened doors for me. This for me is my: ‘Aildanio’, my ‘Restart, as I move forward with life with a greater understanding of myself and a strong commitment to my work.

Covid not only happened to neurodivergent, disabled and disadvantaged people, it happened to all of us as a nation. For me, there are positives that have come out of the changes caused by the pandemic, and how we now live our lives. These changes have been massively helpful to me and my neurodivergent brain. I can now connect and learn with the world better than ever before, the ability to meet and learn online from professionals that I could not reach before has been genuinely life-changing. Online learning did not exist at this level of ease and is now available for all of us, adapting and being inclusive of disabled and neurodivergent people. It has brought disabled and neurodivergent individuals a closer step towards a level playing field in participating in the neurotypical world. If not for Covid, I do not believe this gap would have been accommodated at such pace and urgency.

There is still a long way to go to make society truly equal for disabled, neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ people and it is my intention to use my photography to raise awareness to make changes for the better.

In my ‘Aildanio’ image, I explore how it feels to break out and explore not only new opportunities but my personal identity as an autistic, LBGTQ person; with the image I invite the viewer to think about how they have, or might begin to unlock their own potential and realise the power that is made available to us when we commit to beginning something new, or to restart something that may have been slumbering.

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