(Un)masking

Longlisted for OD Photo Prize 2023

Featured in Der Greif Guest Room 2025

(Un)masking is an exploration of my own late-discovered neurodivergence and the concept of ‘masking’ – a survival strategy used by people on the autism spectrum to blend into a world designed for – and by – neurotypicals.

Here, I pair my childhood photographs with words to explore  the duality of my existence on the spectrum – the person I thought I was and the person I now recognise myself to be. This journey is presented as a series of dialogues between photographs and texts, weaving through the past and the present, capturing the unique intricacies of the female autistic experience discovered late in life.  

These dialogues, while deeply personal, touch upon a universal theme. They invite us to think about how societal norms shape us, the experience of being seen as ‘different’, and what it truly means to unmask when masking is so integrated into your behaviour that it becomes impossible to untangle it from your very identity.

The resulting body of work is presented in an intimate 32 page zine, printed of recycled uncoated 135gsm paper.

First edition of 25. Last few copies remain.