The land of Brain Fog.
Words by Winnie Temple, in conversation with Adam Billings.
Could you explain your disability in your own words?
“My disability is more on the chronic illness side of things, so it’s a range of things, primary immunodeficiency being one of the main ones... my immune system doesn’t make the part of the blood that fights infections.” “Because of my immune system I’ve then had lots of chest infections which has led to a condition called bronchiectasis, so my lungs don’t work properly either. Alongside all of that I face chronic fatigue and brain fog as well.”
What is the story behind your shoot?
“My story is about the acceptance of my body’s needs. That’s going to be explored through the concept of the stages of me in brain fog. Going from the first stage, that dissociative sort of frustration and the initial kicking in of the flare up. Initially I get quite overwhelmed by that. So that first idea is to show me doing a mundane task, but in my visual language that’s high fashion, editorial, awkward imagery.”
“The second imagery is that reminding myself of what my mum’s taught me, with how to manage my health and by putting that in play I’m now able to accept that I do need this rest time and time to accept that this is my body. I can still do everything I love, I just have to be more strategic in my planning of it.”
“As the story goes on through the imagery and the campaign it will show me beginning to process, and by processing my needs they always start calming down and relaxing... so the visual language will change to bring more colour in and more bold, playful elements.” “The final stage is that acceptance that I’m in the land of brain-fog, but I can make it my own from accepting what I need and enjoying the things that I love.”
Do you think the arts and society in general are becoming more accessible?
“I think it is, but there’s still a long way to go. The shoots so far have really helped outline such a range of issues that are in place for everyone from general accessibility to more specifics like support animals in studios or the industry standards of long days on set.” “I do feel that we are starting to outline these areas and outline things that we need to improve on to make things work for us.”
Why did you choose to create Look At Us Now?
“The project overall came about from starting to accept my own needs... I’m starting to accept myself and realise that there was never an issue with me it was more the way that society posed everything... society is designed for able-bodied people.” “That acceptance has taken me a long time to get to. From not doing very well in my GCSE’s, to having to do an extra year of college and then an extra year of University to get to my degree. Having to take all those extra steps to get where I wanted to be is part of my message too. It’s taken so long for me to accept that, because I’ve always felt behind.”
“Another reason why I’m doing this project is because of my mum fighting for me and my health. She always put me first, so this project is about acceptance but also knowing that she got me there.” “Because of all her hard work I’m able to start doing it by myself and start trying to keep going and make her proud.”
Why did you choose to participate in a campaign yourself?
“I decided it would be a nice way to wrap up my Master’s if I was to take part in one of the campaigns, because it’s talking about the importance of accessibility for disabled, chronically ill, neurodiverse people. And I fit into that category, so it would be a nice way to round up the first volume of the project.”
