Gods & Monsters.
My 2025 art series Gods and Monsters explores the fragile boundaries of identity and perception through black-and-white portraits of dolls and action figures, depicting both fictional characters and historical figures. By employing deliberate blur, I reflect my lived experience with autism, facial prosopagnosia, and depression, conditions that shape my interaction with the world. These photographs are not mere images but a visual language articulating the disorientation, isolation, and emotional weight of my neurodivergence and mental health struggles.
The choice of dolls and action figures as subjects stems from their constructed, often idealised forms, which echo the elusive nature of identity in my experience. Prosopagnosia renders faces as indistinct, shifting shapes, and the absence of colour in my work strips away superficial clarity, exposing raw textures and forms. The blur, a central technique, mirrors the mental fog of depression and the sensory overload of autism, creating a visual metaphor for a world that feels perpetually out of focus. Each portrait is carefully composed with minimal, stark backgrounds, ensuring the emotional resonance of the figure takes precedence over narrative context. The interplay of sharp and blurred elements captures the fleeting moments of clarity amidst the confusion I navigate daily.
My practice draws inspiration from Francis Bacon’s painting technique, particularly his use of facial blur and distortion to convey psychological turmoil. Bacon’s smeared, contorted faces resonate with my own struggle to recognise and connect with others, reflecting the alienation of prosopagnosia. Similarly, Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photography of waxwork portraits influences my approach. Sugimoto’s ability to imbue lifeless figures with eerie vitality through precise lighting and composition informs how I stage my dolls, transforming them into vessels for emotional and existential inquiry.
In Gods and Monsters, the figures—whether mythic heroes, villains, or historical icons—become proxies for my internal battles. Their frozen expressions and blurred features carry the weight of my experiences, inviting viewers to confront the discomfort of ambiguity. The series challenges the viewer to find meaning in the obscured, to sit with the unease of a world that resists clear definition. This work is deeply personal, yet it seeks universal connection, offering a glimpse into the complex interplay of neurodivergence and mental health.
Through Gods and Monsters, I explore the tension between presence and absence, clarity and distortion. It’s a meditation on navigating a world that feels elusive, where faces and emotions blur into uncertainty. By drawing on Bacon’s raw emotionality and Sugimoto’s haunting precision, I aim to create portraits that resonate with vulnerability and invite empathy. This series is my attempt to bridge the gap between my inner world and the viewer’s, forging connection through shared humanity in the face of struggle.
(l to r) ARM, KIM, SUP. From the series Gods and Monsters (2025).