Abstract Summary/Description
Fatigue is one of the most exasperating side effects I endure while living with autoimmune disorders. In the United States, fatigue affects a span of 5-45% of the general population. This is due to multiple reasons, some of the most crucial being a defunct covid-19 response, amplified expectations of labor, lack of societal safety nets, and autoimmune diseases. It is defined formally as debilitating periods of exhaustion but culturally can be considered laziness or ignorance. The concept of fatigue is nebulous, and attempting to understand it can offer limited resources that contain traditional and tangible imagery. I respond to this by working with alternative photographic collages, traditional darkroom processes, along with performative sound and movement. These choices are employed to engage with contemporary disability studies and the history of problematic photographic interpretations of human bodies. The result is an exhibition predicated on cultivating a culture of awareness and care by recognizing fatigue as a valid, debilitating experience. Being uses lens-based methods, score-based performative actions, and sound to explore the act of co/existing with fatigue.
