‘Little Big Woman‘

A Story of Resilience

Being a Different Kind of Different

My multi-disciplinary art practice explores Relational Critical Disability Aesthetics. As a woman with dwarfism, I work collaboratively to experiment with the representation of my embodied difference. The focus of my art to date, has been upon features and dynamics of interactions and relations within physical and social environments that define the dwarf person as an Other. By experimenting with the power of the gaze and changing point of view, I emphasise the politics of visible difference. Employing the mediums of performance, video, VR, photography, and sculpture, my oeuvre has evolved to culminate in cross art-form works. I explore the capacities of each medium to communicate a different and dynamic perspective of lived experience.

My approach to Relational Critical Disability Aesthetics experiments with shifting point of view to engage with and immerse participants and audiences into my world. I constantly challenge traditional stereotypes about those who look different, and to date, the subject of my work in this endeavour is my lived experience. As my art practice evolves, I aim to move beyond the perspective of the individual. My current works explore the experiences of those who share my body type from the four corners of the world, different gender identities, ages, strata of society and those at intersections of disadvantage. Experimenting further with cross art-forms – visual and auditory – I aim to produce work that invites audiences to engage with these different perspectives and points of view to gain new insight and understanding of what it is like to be “a different kind of different”. 

 I have two PhDs, the first in Psychology from Wollongong University and Oxford on the subject of Dehumanization; and the second in Visual Arts from UNSW which presents a Critical Relational Disability Aesthetic through the representation of the female dwarf. My art work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions and festivals. I have published book chapters and journal articles, and presented at international conferences and workshops. Currently, I teach creative conflict management and Disability Aesthetics at NIDA. I have also contributed to disability advocacy through my work as a consultant on accessibility for the National Gallery of Australia and the National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA). Currently, I am writing a theatre script on Disability and Sexuality, employing principles of Creative Access.

Please contact me to request my CV for specific details and employment history, publication details and exhibition history. See Contact page