Claire, the cosmic crab
Oil on canvas, 2025
60 x 60cm
Scaley, Claire, Cooper & Freak Monster were made by Colour Collective art workshop participants. The characters represent the participants and give them an alto-ego to safely share their thoughts, while keeping their true identities anonymous.
Exhibition synopsis
Being diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, at 20 years old uncovered the deep fear I had instilled within me watching family members struggle with the disease growing up.
Working as a disability support worker over the last several years seriously disrupted my expectations around disability, and exposed much of the bias and prejudice I had adopted from my family. I realized that my own views were creating limiting beliefs that were shattered again & again by people in my life living with disability.
This attitude can be described as ‘the social construct of disability’, a theory which proposes that the largest barriers facing people living with a disability are societal misconceptions and structures, rather than the impairments of the disability themselves.
I’ve spent the last 18 months since beginning my residency at Merivale Studios interviewing people in my community around this topic. The overwhelming response I received confirmed that social constructs were the biggest barriers to access and inclusion. The stories and experiences that moved me inspired all the artworks in this exhibition.
I invite you to consider the possibility that even your most compassionate, empathetic self might still hold subconscious bias, and challenge you to question yourself, “should I ask that?”
