Brooke Mott
Loves All Gone
♫ "The Worst Day of My Life" by Amy Shark
2021
Acrylic on canvas
91.45cm x 121.9cm
About Brooke Mott:
TO FEEL LIKE US
The “To Feel Like Us” is a collection of abstract works created using the artists synaesthesia experiences. It is an exploration into the co-occurrence of synaesthesia and neurodiversity.
♫ “What’s left of me? Am I already more than you bargained for?”
Two years ago, my battle with MS began to spiral uncontrollably. My mobility deteriorated rapidly over a few weeks and I landed in hospital unable to get from the bed to the bathroom without support. I never fully recovered, over the years since I have progressed to using a walker and then to a wheelchair. It has taken my graphic design career, my ability to play with children and my entire sense of self with it. There have been times where I was only awake for two hours at a time. It has taken hours and hours of therapies just to get some sort of function and life back. Amongst all of this, both of my children were diagnosed with autism which ultimately lead to my own diagnosis. Being diagnosed with autism offered an explanation for all of the differences I had over the years. It has actually been through becoming physically disabled that I have allowed myself to accept these differences. There is power in this acceptance.
What is masking? Masking or camouflaging is artificially performing social behaviour that is deemed to be more socially acceptable (by neurotypical standards) or hiding behaviour that might be viewed as socially unacceptable.
♫ “I think I’m coming back to life”
For the first time in fifteen years, I turned back to my art, as my therapy. As I processed
things, I was flooded with blocked emotions and creativity. With it my colours came back, only to find out that this was not a typical experience. I had spent my entire life believing that Synaesthesia was a universal experience. So I leant into it and it turns out that the Synaesthesia experience is even stronger when you’re emotional. So I let it all out and onto the canvas. The lyrics allowed me to explore the depths and levels of my “otherness” and the heavy loneliness that surrounds it.
♫ “Don’t let my anxiety bring you down”
Masking requires a substantial cognitive effort, which can be exhausting and may
lead to “increased stress responses, meltdown due to social overload, anxiety and
depression, and even a negative impact on the development of one’s identity”
Being raised female, my autism went completely under the radar which was a very common occurrence. Girls (and gender nonconforming people) on the spectrum are known for masking and are often so good at masking their autism, it leads to them being misdiagnosed or left undiagnosed. The most difficult part is that masking for neurodivergent people is so fundamentally toxic to out wellbeing. When you’re autistic and masking, you can literally sit amongst neurotypicals and feel completely alone because they will never understand what it feels like to feel like us.
Please, contact the gallery by phone (07) 3151 6655 or email shop-aftm@wmq.org.au to arrange pick-up or shipping*.
*Shipping at the buyer's expense. AFTM will assist in finding the best price option for shipping.