Alexandra Ensor

"My work explores shapeshifting, reflecting masking and continuously adapting to the world around me. Autism shapes how I perceive and respond to sensory and emotional environments, producing visceral art. Through a self-portrait in ink, graphite and digital manipulation, I visualise how autism embodies and differentiates me in relation to societal expectations of normality. The piece challenges stigmas around autism, particularly the alienating labels I have had, being called ‘alien’ or ‘too different.’ The swirling marks and textures represent the internalisation of these experiences - how they dominated my sense of self - acting as a reclamation of identity, self-acceptance and protest against what is normal."