“STATIC” is an autobiographical collage artwork, in which I combine poetry, both audio and visual, with scanned imagery to speak about my experiences as someone with ADHD. Taking influence from the work of Tracey Emin and Sophie Calle. In the same vein as Tracey Emin, my work is confessional. Confessional artwork is “a form of contemporary art that focuses on an intentional revelation of the private self”. Such works seek the opinions, experiences, and analyses of viewers in the way of sparking discussions around the topics mentioned within it. Emin uses artwork as a method of platforming her own experiences. My piece “STATIC” is partly inspired by her lettering within her artwork “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995” (1995), as much like her style within her ‘banner’ works, I disseminate my poetry into individual letters. However, unlike Emin’s work in which she hand-embroiders letters, conveying a sense of humanness, the lettering within my piece is done using a stencil. This was a purposeful decision on my behalf. The letters are uniform, unchanging, and are within neat, clean edged,  2x2 inch white paper squares, acting as a representation of the expectation of regularity forced on those who are neurodivergent to become a sterilised version of themselves in order to ‘fit in’ with those who are neurotypical. As emphasised by the contrast created between the ‘perfect’ lettering and the idea of distortion created through the television static.

Taking inspiration from other artists such as Sophie Calle, specifically her piece “Take Care of Yourself” (2007) in which she gifts a copy of a break-up email she received to 100 others and asks them to each analyse it. This piece inspired me to pick apart and analyse other works by artists I appreciate. It also allowed me to take a deeper look into the nuances of my own work and reflect on how my own work may be perceived by others. Inspiring me to apply this same question to myself, in both ways in which I perceive myself and how I may be perceived by others.

The title of my piece, and the imagery surrounding television static is born from feeling as though somehow you are ‘malfunctioning’ as a person. Something which unfortunately unifies lot of neurodivergent people, more specifically for those with ADHD. As we acknowledge the behaviours of those around us , recognising and unconsciously internalising a dissonance between their capabilities, and ours. Leading to overwhelming feelings of inadequacy and perceived self-failure significant enough to be written about in psychological literature. This concept is further supported, as it is known that static is a result of signal interference and electronic malfunctioning. Acting as a disruption to normal television functioning, much like how those with ADHD experience a phenomenon known as ‘task paralysis’. In which those affected feel mentally stuck and unable to switch tasks as a result of poor executive functioning.

Through the act of displaying vulnerability within my artwork, conversations are created around the topics introduced within it. Viewers can see, hear, and understand experiences that are not their own, but which are similar enough as to channel their own humanity through sympathy and tolerance, leading to an increase in awareness and acceptance. Within Emin’s piece, she creates a sense of intimacy as the invites the viewer into a tent to observe her work. I wanted to emulate a similar feeling, one of human connection. This was done by having my poetry run through a set of wired headphones for the viewer to wear. By wearing headphones, all other noise is blocked out, enabling for complete focus on my work and voice. When my voice is included in the audio, the viewer can establish links between the artwork, its themes, and myself as a human being, instead of passively observing the art.