We all feel the world differently

Tess Charles

Opening: August 16 5:30 pm

Viewing: August 16 until August 26

I have ADHD. Quite a few people I love have it too. I haven’t always known this. I was diagnosed late because ADHD in women and girls generally tends to be harder to spot – we can be really good at masking our symptoms.

The photographs in this series are the beginning of a wider project I hope to continue with. I have found it hard to talk about my experience and have often been met with disbelief “you…really?”. I think most people just see ADHD as a hyperactive child bouncing off the walls. I want to show that while ADHD can be this, it can also be many other things.

These images are just a start. They represent about 1% of the experience – I haven’t even scratched the surface. In searching for subjects to photograph, almost everyone I have asked so far hasn’t wanted to be a part of the project because of the stigma that exists around neurodiversity. Almost as though, if they were known to have ADHD, they would be seen as lesser people.

I’d like, in some small way, to change that.

For all the ways ADHD challenges me, it also forms a huge part of the things I like about myself. Without it I think I wouldn’t have half the courage, sensitivity or creativity that I do. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything. My hope is that in making myself (and ADHD) more visible, it might help others to understand themselves a little better. Because I believe the better we know ourselves, the easier we can navigate life and the happier we can be.

{ Gallery 2 }

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