NEALE STRATFORD
HALLWAY
Wrongtown? Wrongtown? For me, traveling to the city it was like being on the wrong planet. As I come from an area where a traffic jam consist of two cars and a cow, to make the trek to Melbourne to participate was an adventure for me akin to a tale from the Odyssey by Homer (the Greek poet, not Simpson). My artwork is about finding my personal identity after a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome. Using the action figures I collect, I create portraits of facial expressions, facial expressions that in the real world I find difficult to understand. These expressions of fear, rage, sarcasm, joy, flirting, ect are a part of everyday interactions for the 'norm', which for me is a secret code for which I have no physiological 'Enigma Machine' to help me decipher. Even though I was way out of my comfort zone, a proverbial fish out of water, Wrongtown felt strangely comfortable and familiar - almost like home.
