ChallengedColoured Pencils Challenged reflects the complex reality of growing up alongside a family member with mental disabilities and the different ways that life can be perceived. Created using pink and blue pencil crayons in a semi-realistic style, the work utilizes old theatre 3D glasses, allowing the image to be viewed in three different ways. Without glasses, the scene looks typical, like something that's expected, familiar. A happy family contained within perfect Polaroid frames, with pieces of less defined struggle peeking through. Difficult moments are noticed, but never truly understood. Through the blue lens, the viewer sees our normal reality, a close family bound together by love, care, and shared experience, even as life quietly revolves around one member. The red lens reveals what is rarely seen. Precise pencil lines become smudges and erratic marks, and the pictures become ripped and taped together as the work showcases the uncomfortable reality of his screaming, the volatility, his fears of everyday objects, and the moments when the only chance to get a break is to hide in the car. These are what go unnoticed. They remain unspoken, but still deeply present in our family's shared reality. |