At PICA we recognise that we are situated within the unceded lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. We pay our respects and offer our gratitude to Elders past and present, and to those emerging leaders in the community. We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the importance of their care and continued connection to culture, community and Country.

Always was, always will be.

Our foyer is open today 10am–5pm . Our exhibitions are always free.

Ailsa Waddell

Ailsa Waddell

Waddell will be working on their latest project love ur loops; (it won’t go on forever) which intention is to engage in an evolving reflection on my fixations and loops as someone living with ADHD. They want to start a conversation with other people who are neurodiverse (specifically those with ADHD). To be able to start talking about the pressure ADHD can have on your interpersonal relationships; rather than just within institutional or working environments.

Their previous projects have always been about cooling off, and thinking about coming down from a period of elevation (or what they have recently discovered to be hypomania). They like the way certain materials slip, ooze, fall into crevices and make puddles on the flood; until eventually becoming dry and brittle. So much of what they make is rapid; made in a period of elevation and/or hypomania. Making work is very similar to the way they process things in their interpersonal relationships. Things are on constant repeat, until I fall down or lose interest. They want to bring ADHD outside its simplicity within medicated and institutional frameworks. ADHD is still often only understood in a very narrow lens, many folks thinking it’s just to do with your ability to focus.

There is very little research into the overall effects it can have on your everyday life often seen as a childhood disorder; easily cured through medication. To do this, Waddell wants to bring together other people in Boorloo who live with ADHD; as there’s a need for more community engagement to actually begin to unpack what it all means.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ailsa is a Boorloo based artist who grew up in the Noongar region Yued (Moora). They like to work with soft materials like wet cement, slime and glue, often in response to her fixations and loops as a person with ADHD. They like materials that feel good, and find themselves getting stuck using the same material, or printing and drawing the same thing over and over again. Recently she has been directly responding to the effects ADHD has on their interpersonal relationships. ADHD is often only ever seen within extremities ​(​​ ​a superpower or a nuisance)​, with very minimal discussion on how it affects someone’s everyday existence.