8 Projects
Creative Project Portfolio
Having an invisible disability often changes how you see the world and how people see you. Sometimes, others will see one thing on the outside about me, such as my appearance, but they have no clue about the pain that exists inside my body. I experience the world differently as a person with an invisible disability as well. Some people may see a walkable pathway or staircase, while I see a pathway to pain in my knees.
Mask, Body, and Layers –Kai Babcock
My experience with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is complex; there are layers to how I go through life. The part I think about the most is how people view me from the outside versus how I feel on the inside. However, sometimes I feel like my disability is still the biggest part of my life, and that I need to wear on the outside as well as the inside.
My original portfolio focused on expressing my disability, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), through art. I continued this theme in my current portfolio, and I wanted to focus on telling a story through my pieces. The zebra symbol is used since Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is a zebra condition, meaning that doctors will usually assume it is something else before they think it is EDS, just like how if you heard hooves, you would think it was a horse before a zebra. This symbolism is used in my first piece, ‘Layers’, showing a zebra underneath the horse layer. From there, I wanted my other pieces to represent more how I felt about my condition. ‘Body’ is a representation of how I view my body on the inside and outside. The figure is shown with a wrist brace, knee brace, and finger splints, which are the mobility aids I use. The cracks and scars symbolize both real and internal scarring from my fragile skin and how my joints can dislocate and cause physical pain. Finally, ‘Mask’ describes how I feel as someone with EDS. Since my disability is invisible, I often feel like I need to be open about my condition or else I won’t be accommodated. It’s not something that I am ashamed of, but it can feel like the label ‘disabled’ comes before even my name. Overall, I feel like creating my portfolio, both in the original project and during my expansion, helped me learn more about myself and how to portray how I feel to others.
