Unmasked Art

19/03/2026

✨Milestone unlocked: My PhD research project now has ethics approval! 🎨 Next phase: a participatory arts-based project with late-diagnosed Autistic women, exploring identity, voice, and self-advocacy through creative practice. 🌿More details to come soon! ~Image: Original artwork by me. Image description in Alt Text.

02/03/2026

Worth the long drive over the weekend for the vivid shimmering blue of Cape Byron, the hills covered in mist, and the magic of ✨🌊🏞️💕

09/03/2024

Such a powerful post by Chloé Hayden about International Womens Day and the need for change and to support all women.



We celebrate International Women’s Day
But my first day in the film industry the first article that was made was ‘how much does Chloe Hayden weigh’
International Women’s Day
But I’m sexually harassed online after every event I go to, comments of ‘someone angle the camera lower’ and ‘I wish her skirt was shorter’ littering comment threads
International Women’s Day
But it took me 12 years to be diagnosed with endometriosis, all doctors telling me ‘you’re being dramatic, take a Panadol and go home’
International Women’s Day
But my first time doing children’s television there was online threads envisioning me as a ‘naughty teacher’
International Women’s Day
But when I show up as an autistic woman, I’m abused for it. Every. Single. Day.
International Women’s Day
But I’ll be harassed in public if I’m by myself or with another woman, but if my husband is with me; suddenly, silence.
International Women’s Day
But 78% of autistic women will be sexually abused in their life time
But our prisons are overwhelmed with women and children being punished for acts of survival
But rates of domestic and sexual violence are still rising
But Indigenous women are ten times more likely to die of violent assault, have a lower life expectancy, have higher rates in infant loss, are being imprisoned at significantly higher rates.
But intimate partner violence has the highest death and disability rate of all preventable risk factors in Australia
But there is still a significant gender pay gap.

But globally we have more rights as an embryo than we do as women.

International Women’s Day
We don’t need cupcakes. We need you to listen.
We need change.
~Chloe Hayden

04/02/2024

This! Pay artists!

Imagine if there was a world with no paintings, no movies, no photographs, no books, or any of the other creative things artists make. These things enrich our lives, and the people that pour their time and energy into making them deserve to be paid.

Neurodivergent Rebel

I’ve seen a lot of “art should be free” (or almost free) circulating online recently - in relation to both intellectual creations (like books) and handmade goods (which can take hours, even years to complete).

Why are artists and creatives seen as less valuable trades to take on?

Maybe it’s because we choose to do a job we love, people don’t feel we should be paid to create or that artists time has value.

Art supplies are also NOT cheap!

Unfortunately, artists are often asked to work for free… maybe it’s because we choose to do a job we love, people don’t feel we should be paid to create or that artists time has value (when many artists have to take on full time jobs to fund their art… which burns them out and makes them too tired to do art).

In an ideal world EVERYTHING would be free.

Why are you singling out artists?

21/01/2024

Where are all my fellow people pleasers at? 👋🏻 It can be so common among Autistic people - we learn early on to mask and hide our true thoughts and feelings. But we’re allowed to be ourselves, we’re allowed to say no. This is something I’m working on, and it is harddddd but rewarding work. Give it a try 🌈

✨🌟There’s freedom in not pretending 🌟✨

484 likes, 62 comments. “It’s OKAY to NOT be FINE.”

14/01/2024

I submitted a research milestone just before Christmas, and my university supervisor just informed me that I was awarded the grade of 'exceeds expectations' 😀🥳💪 So pleased that my efforts are being recognised, especially when the end of the year was so hectic. Its just one of many milestones, and I'm already wading knee-deep as I continue working on two research papers and the next milestone, but its nice to have this little confidence boost to keep me energised and motivated.

Sometimes we forget to notice the little wins (but we really feel those challenges and failures, don't we?). This is especially true for Autistic people - we often struggle with being the centre of attention and receiving compliments and can be particularly sensitive to rejection.

So what little wins have you had lately? Big or small, feel free to share in the comments and pat yourself on the back! 🌈

12/01/2024

Watching light and shadows move and change colour and shape is one of my favourite things. This light from my new lamp was dancing across the wall at night and I had to capture it.

31/12/2023

Happy new year 🌈 I'm not a person to make new year's resolutions, but I do welcome the opportunity to reframe and be intentional with how I spend my time. So here is a list of things I'd like to spend more, or less, time on in 2024. What would be on your list?

#2024

11/11/2023

These days there is a lot of social media content about autism. But how much of it is accurate? A recent study investigated the reach and accuracy of videos providing informational content about autism on TikTok.

Coders independently fact-checked informational content of the most viewed videos from the hashtag videos and coded it as either accurate, inaccurate or ‘overgeneralization’ based on the consistency ofthe information in the videos with current knowledge on autism.

An examination of the top 133 videos providing informational content on autism, which totaled 198.7 million views and 25.2 million likes, showed that 27% of the videos were classified as accurate, while 41% were classified as inaccurate and 32% as overgeneralized.

The study found that although informational content about autism made available on TikTok reaches a wide number of people, most of the information provided appears to be misaligned with current knowledge.

Source: Aragon-Guevara, Diego & Castle, Grace & Sheridan, Elisabeth & Vivanti, Giacomo. (2023). The Reach and Accuracy of Information on Autism on TikTok. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 10.1007/s10803-023-06084-6.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-023-06084-6

16/09/2023

How many others are out there like me who have a co-occuring condition like Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) or Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)? Having these kinds of conditions can certainly make navigating life even trickier for us! When I told my allergist I'd always been painted as overly sensitive and a complainer, she was quick to remind me that my issues like widespread pain and sensitivities to food and environment are very real. She describes people like me as 'hothouse flowers' - fragile and vulnerable to conditions that don't affect other people.

There is a small but slowly growing body of research indicating strong linkages between autism and these conditions, but understanding in the medical profession is still generally poor, and obtaining a diagnosis can be very difficult.

If you care for an Autistic person, remember that we may be grappling with multiple and complex conditions. And if you are that Autistic person, remember to take care of yourself and set boundaries to conserve your energy, you awesome warrior!

If you want to learn more, this amazing infographic by My Stripy Life outlines some of the challenges that a person with EDS can face.