Ellen Walker

My practice, having previously focused on pre-existing narratives or self-authored fiction, has begun exploring autobiographical writing, in the form of a graphic novel entitled Muses and Demons- A Very Normal Autobiography.

I have found the medium of comics to be a highly emancipatory outlet for discussing themes of neurodiversity in families, mental health and identity, and disability advocacy. Through this I hope to translate the convoluted inner workings of the neurodiverse brain, to not only spread awareness of disabilities, but to also highlight the very pressing issue of disability discrimination and ableist educational structures in the UK.

The story's narrative is anchored to the period during the early months of the 2020 pandemic, wherein I found myself becoming deeply introspective of my childhood and family, as I experienced a time where I was apart from them for the longest time in my life.

Through daily video chats my family and I reminisced about our shared anecdotes and personal recollections. Both happy and dispiriting memories arose from these conversations, and it was through this that I found our story was one which needed to be told to a wider audience; to not only provide a cathartic outlet for those from similar backgrounds, but to also raise awareness of the reality many disabled children and families are facing, which too often goes unnoticed.

I will be taking forward the idea of comics as a multimodal communicative tool into her PhD research at the RCA, exploring the phenomenon of internet/online storytelling.