I wanted to start collecting thoughts and opinions on the word ‘disabled’ so I decided to make a post on Instagram as a starting point and ask people what the word meant to them. The video I posted shows myself working on the sculpture I am creating to coincide with my this self-initiated project:

I tend to engage quite well with the followers I have on Instagram and many of them are aware of the fact I have ABS (Amniotic Band Syndrome). Although I don’t know everyone personally, I feel I have built up enough of a profile to make people feel comfortable with sharing their thoughts and opinions. The caption under the video reads as follows:

I tend to engage quite well with the followers I have on Instagram and many of them are aware of the fact I have ABS (Amniotic Band Syndrome). Although I don’t know everyone personally, I feel I have built up enough of a profile to make people feel comfortable with sharing their thoughts and opinions. The caption under the video reads as follows:

“If you’d have told me 5 years ago that I’d be making a blinged-out sculpture of my right hand, I probably would have laughed & told you to f**k right off. 5 years ago I still hadn’t REALLY accepted its appearance as being worthy of any sort of acknowledgement, let alone a full on & incredibly visible sculpture concept. I guess this is one example of personal growth. It’s also made me realise the importance of owning a [dis]ability whilst fully celebrating that fact that I am more than able. It’s opened conversations around the use of the word [dis]abled and what it means to people in my life. I’d love to hear your thoughts – what does the word [dis]abled mean to you?”

I made sure to include the hashtags #amnioticbandsyndrome, #blackdisabledcreatives & #luckyfinproject (Lucky Fin Project is an organisation that highlights the profiles of people with limb differences). Although my own exploration of ABS is a very recent thing, I have found that through making my own case visible, I have come across many more people with the same or similar conditions. Some of the responses I received are below:

It’s always interesting to hear other people’s perspectives, especially as in my case, the recent realisation an acceptance of ABS has led to me wanting to explore it more, but in a very visible way. It has also meant that in doing this, I’m more aware of the lack of visibility of black disabled people (primarily women) in both the mainstream arts scene and within arts educational settings. I do anticipate that the journey this will take me on probably won’t end with the completion of the sculpture – it may, in fact, be just the beginning.