THEO IS THEO IS THEO

|   THEO IS THEO IS THEO by Cynthia Lawrence-John   |   

Installation in the window of Werkhaus Margate and Instagram project @cynthialawrencejohn  

Summer 2017. I remember it only too well…Wincing in pain at the bite marks which littered my arms, chest, in fact every part of my upper body. The bite marks being an expression of my son Theo’s frustration… overstimulation…attempts at verbal communication which could not be articulated… which didn’t exist. This mixed media installation is about my continuing journey raising a child with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD) . It is not a ‘pity party’, I want the piece to speak to people on many levels, there are certain notions and feelings around ASD – denial, confusion, frustration… I want to celebrate my son and all the ASD children. Through Theo I have learned to understand my own idiosyncracies and my ‘spectrum-y’ outlook on life… there are plus and minus points.This piece is a celebration and empowerment for parents/guardians and relatives who are on a similar path. It can be a very lonely, exhausting and daunting path, until you share stories with others in the same situation. The work will incorporate text, photography, film and noise!

Due to the pandemic and current social distancing rules, I decided to utilise instagram as a platform to ‘exhibit’ instead of a physical space. Thank you, Anna Bang for the suggestion! Thank you to the army of friends who are helping me on this journey.Thank you Theo for being Theo.

Find out more about Cynthia Lawrence-John and their project here.