unsolicited advice!

Unsolicited Advice! is a body of work drawn from a lifetime of awkward, and often insensitive, unsolicited advice I am given after people discover I am disabled. This text-based textile installation deconstructs these interactions, amplifying all the cliché, ill-informed and thoughtless advice disabled people are accustomed to hearing – and highlighting the absurdity of our need to save, change or fix disabled people.
Extracts from these conversations have been sewn into vibrant quilts and cushions that the audience is invited to interact with. Tactile, bright and playful, the quilts contrast against the underlying meaning of the exhibition: that unsolicited advice is unwelcome. This exhibition aspires to create a safe and soft place within which audiences can emotionally engage and break down their own preconceived biases.

Installation view, Firstdraft, Sydney.
Photos: Zan Wimberley