From exploring my project further, I have developed a polished project that still has the possibility to be expanded in the future. I have submitted a portfolio which sophistically explores the lives of disabled people, including myself and effectively challenges public perceptions of disability. The final statement is shown below.
Disability is a social construct that renders the position of the disabled person as lesser than that of an able-bodied person. This requires change; to induce change, we need understanding.
The majority of experiences of disability or life limiting conditions are ignored by the wider community; whether this is because the conditions are largely invisible or whether wider society has chosen to not consider certain conditions as worthy of regard. As a result, sections of the disabled community experience discrimination, ranging from subtle to the outright aggressive. Being disabled includes a horizon of having to explain, declare and justify your otherness and need for consideration.
This work portrays some of the societal complexity of the lived experience of invisible disability.
Rachel Buxton Photography 