Noelle DeVore

My theme is fish. More specifically, fish representing neurodivergency. Neurodivergency is an umbrella term for mental disorders like Autism, ADHD, OCD, Dyslexia, and more. I myself am an Autistic person, and I also have ADHD.

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The idea of fish stemmed from an entirely random thought. It was in my freshman year, after I saw the 2018-2019 IB Art show. I was on my way home when the mental image of a fish in a bowl surrounded by eyes just came to me. That image, now in this very show, was the start of an entire year’s worth of ideas. 

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All of the pieces in this exhibit either showcase fish, neurodivergent people, or both. For example, the piece Familiarity has more focus on specifically fish than it does people or a mix of both. On the other hand, my set Faces features specifically people. This range is to keep my works interesting rather than the repetition of people with fish for heads.

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I think my strongest works are Faces and Watched. Faces is designed to help you connect the struggles and community I am conveying to real people. I made portraits of people I know personally who are neurodivergent or are attempting to be diagnosed with a neurodivergency. No two of us are the same, and taking the idea of neurodiversity I am conveying in all my works and connecting them to real people was a really important part of my works. 

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Watched is the very piece that sparked this whole exhibit. Watched is about two things: the feeling of eye contact and the feeling of being judged. Eye contact is uncomfortable for many neurodivergent people, myself included. It feels like too much is happening, there’s a force beating down on you to pay attention to it, and if you don’t, you’re considered rude and unfocused.

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The feeling of being judged is a strong feeling, and you feel it often as a neurodivergent person. Many neurotypicals don’t hold back their rude comments about our behavior, appearances, and disorders in general. The feeling of constantly walking on glass is not unknown within the community. 

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The intention of this exhibit is to show you, the viewer, what living as a neurodivergent person feels like. Our struggles, our daily lives, and our community. The arrangement of these works is in no particular order, as I feel all struggles and hardships neurodivergent people face are equally important. My exhibit is also to help teach you. Many neurotypical people do not care to educate themselves properly about neurodivergencies and neurodivergent people. We are a very diverse community, and our struggles are just as diverse.