Can't believe that's been 2 years since our (award winning) little film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival so felt it was only right to     re-share it for those who hadn't yet seen it (and if not why not?) or wanted to watch it again,  suffice to say it would be an understatement to say that this is one of the pieces of work I'm still most proud of.           And don't forget that you can actually listen to a version of it on the Radio 4 series Short Cuts  too.       A film shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses fo...

    Well I reckon that the World Autism Acceptance Week is as good an excuse as any to indulge in some blatant self publicity and by that I mean reshare the transcript of my Spectrum Sinema performance that the magnificent Paul Wady invited me to do during his Eccentrics Unite! Fringe show a few years back  - the actual gig was edited for timing reasons/my rambling ways so it was fairly short 'n' snappy which was unusual for me but it seemed to go down OK. I mean there were no walk-outs but I did make a man visibly uncomfortable with the sheer Autistic intensity of my love for the films of 1982. This has been a dream of mine for years if I'm honest. Which I always am obviously seeing as Autistics are incapable of lying. Probably.  Anyway, rather than share the short 'live' presentation here instead is the full, unedited version of it. As an aside this piece became the starting point for the Spectrum Sinema book I'm currently writing, of which there's a ...

  Couldn't let the actual Autism Awareness Day pass without sharing probably  THE project I am most proud of being involved with, our (award winning) wee film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF. Shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, the original footage captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of view. As the film evolves, it takes on the rhythms and repetitions of the children’s activities, becoming a playful homage to the body language of autism. If you've never seen it watch it now, if you've seen it before feel free to watch again! And if you want to know more (or even listen to the Radio 4 adaptation) jus...

  Seeing as it's the annual Alasdair Gray 'Gray Day' I thought I'd repost my contribution.   His portrait Frances Gordon, Glasgow Teenager inspired my collaboration with Glasgow Open Museum and guests of Glasgow City Mission in creating 'portraits' focusing on their interests rather than in a traditional style.    You can find out more here plus you can read about the project from an autistic perspective here . Enjoy. Portrait of Frances Gordon. (c) Alasdair Gray, courtesy of Glasgow Museums collections.

A wee bit quiet on the normal (usually angry) Autistic front at the mo' as I'm busy beavering away on the artwork for Frightfest in Glasgow next month....All the film posters are completed (and being unveiled on t'interweb) so currently hard at work on the guest portraits. Anyway I thought I'd share an interview I did regarding the illustrations I create for this fine festival from way back in 2018. And there's even a copy added below for those of you who don't like links and/or pictures. Enjoy.

Might be a wee bit less of the complaining around here for the next few weeks (I can hear the collective sighs of relief) as it's Frightfest time so I'll be busy drawing poster art and portraits for the next month or so. In the meantime enjoy this years festival banner!  And you can check out my previous Frightfest work (if you're so inclined) here .  

Blast from the past!    5 years ago I wrote this for the Twins Trust Multiple Matters magazine, a - rather good if I say so myself - article on our family, twins and autism. Enjoy - again - the full (uncut - I tend to ramble) version below.       Hi everyone! Your illustrious editor has asked me to pen a few words for this issue regarding twins and autism – or Autistic twins if you like. Now before you quickly flick the page thinking “Gawd this’ll be a wee bit depressing/preachy” (delete as applicable) let me just alleviate your fears by pointing out that unlike most Autistic overviews that seem to concentrate on the differences and struggles parents of autistic kids seem to have when interacting with their brood this’ll be a wee bit different. You see out of the 5 folk living in our house, 4 of us are on ‘ver spectrum’ - as the cool kids call it. So if anything that mysterious Autistic mindset I keep reading about is actua...

  To celebrate the birthday of Jim Morrison, here are a few little seen storyboards from the cancelled film adaptation of The Poet in Exile.  Enjoy.  

On a brighter note, can't believe that's been a year since the opening of the Autism Through An Autistic Lens exhibition I was involved with. Time does indeed fly.