Artist Process Box - THE STORM 15-30 Nov 2025, Nyisztor Studio, Fremantle.

September 21, 2025

Artist Process Box - THE STORM 15-30 Nov 2025, Nyisztor Studio, Fremantle.

Artist process box

Pen, card and red thread, 2025.

I had pondered on this idea when we were in the discussion period of workshopping boxes. Many questions and ideas flowed in and out of my mind for a while 'to put myself, my art and my process in a box' it seemed almost limiting at the start as my art is a result of my life experiences, embedded into the traumas, and of living with a disability. Art was an act of defiance in a world that told me I was different, an act of self-care and to disengage from the world and the situations I found myself in and as a conduit to dissociate. Interwoven with my conditions of a limb difference, Cptsd and FND for myself art isn't just art, it's a story.

I laughed to myself as I thought this will just be a box filled with mental health, I tossed between this idea do I want my box to just portray my struggles? Will it be silly? Harsh words of no one cares about your experiences and it's self-indulgent looped in my mind. However, the fact remained in order to produce my artist box it needed to include my lived experiences and to not include such things the viewer is getting a washed out, diluted version of who I am and my creative practises. A promise I made to myself after onset of FND was to no longer dilute my experience for the comfort of others.

My experiences give space for advocacy via story telling; my life is my life lived. My experiences are vast and quite complex and whilst I feel a sense of normalcy in that, the fact is others haven't lived my life nor are they aware of certain events that disabled people have faced. These experiences are hidden away with the illusion of inclusion, hushed words and the constant minimalization of the disabled experience within society, communities and within family settings.

During this time, I had just finished a collection called symptomology, intimate imagery of how my body is affected by FND. These works were done digital as I was finding it hard to create due to fatigue levels so I was working within slowness.

I had carried that slowness into this artist box. I started just drawing zines and slowly the work built up from there. I oscillated between my art process and my experiences trying to find balance which wasn't easy.

I still felt unsure of how these creations would be viewed as I myself didn't quite understand; a trauma response when looking at my own identify it feels fractured and foggy. With kindness and compassion a group sat down and explored the box together and the feedback was excellent. The feedback was it has many layers, powerful, horrifying, essential reading, intimate, personal, thought provoking, the zine size scale was inviting, experiencing the world through someone else's eyes. It's a whole story, each of the objects created an emotional framework, it's a multi-dimensional exploration. The feedback negated any concern or worry in presenting this box with the SICK AF Collective.

Zines I played with my inner teen and created zines as an act of rebellion. I shared a story of how I as a poor teen and how I accessed art supplies via meetings with youth service providers. FND and art is a cute little zine about how art helps the brain rewire, around the edges are synapses if you open it up. And make cheap art is about making art accessible to all people, selling prints means that everyone has access to art this is an ode to my younger self who yearned for art however due to my socio-economic status acquiring art wasn't an option.

Zines, 2025.

Valium wrapped in twine, a shameful exposure to the fact that I do in fact take valium to help soothe some symptoms of FND, the stigma faced around Benzos is rife however it does help certain symptoms such as visual issues and dystonia. Within society there's this automatic belief that benzos are only used when people are anxious however they are often used with dystonia, seizures and other conditions such as vertigo. I shouldn't feel shame; however I do.

Empty Valium packets bound by red thread and card, 2025

A pill bottle with a label stating Seroquel upon opening up the bottle a tangled thread of feelings come out. Attached are feelings towards Seroquel usage calm, sedate, numb and drowsy are how I feel taking this medication and again the self-stigma attached toward medicating my mental health issues. I feel anger when I remind myself that I have to take meds because I'm living in a body with Cptsd, a condition due to the wrong doings of others.

Seroquel Bottle, Red Thread and card, 2025

Stupid shit people say to disabled people is a little book I created highlighting some of the most outrages and disgusting words I've heard come out of the mouths of others in regard to my disabilities it highlights the experiences of being disabled. While I've adopted a dark humour towards unkind words, a person without similar experiences would be horrified.

Hand made Booklet, 2025.

Three felt tip pens in various stages of usage, they have red thread and a note attached to them showing you the levels that I create with, a nice ink filled pen, a pen that's feeling a bit lacking and a pen that you can't actually write with; they all hold a space within my creative practises.

Three pens, thread and card, 2025.

An a5 art book that says on the front 'I revolt the notion to create we need expensive tools' concreting my belief that we shouldn't create art with the best and expensive tools. Within this book is a few snippets of my process such as my list of current works since onset, to the storms works process. While I don't use that particular book for drawing, my drawing books paper isn't that far off quality wise.

Art Book with quote, 2025.

A stamped poem is a nice way to view my writings, with each print I make has an assigned piece of writing attached and I felt that they weren't getting the medium they deserved; written on the back of prints, hidden. Stamping with ink on card is very present minded work, a great process for art therapy; one cannot ruminate or you will make a mistake; a hyper focus is needed. Previously creating with just black and white, red is slowly coming into my creations as I evolve as an artist.