Exhibitions
Sorry I’m Not Sorry, Lauren Joy Kennett
Aspex Portsmouth in partnership with Photoworks present Lauren Joy Kennett’s first solo show, an exploration of living with undiagnosed autism.
Aspex Portsmouth and Photoworks are pleased to present Lauren Joy Kennett’s (LJK) first solo show and the debut of her newest body of work Sorry I’m Not Sorry. Commissioned as part of the In Focus programme, this new body of work explores the artists’ experience of living with undiagnosed autism.
Through autobiographical and archive photography, LJK uses cutting and collaging techniques to explore self-discovery, confrontation of life’s traumas and experiences that have shaped her existence.
These fragmented and reassembled self-portraits serve as a visceral expression of the autistic experience. They capture the frustration of perpetual misunderstanding and an incapacity to articulate inner turmoil. The images encapsulate the alienation and loneliness experienced and the exhaustive effort to conform.
Using old family photographs, she reconstructs and reinterprets childhood memories; a process of dismantling and piecing together her identity to understand her past. LJK returns to her childhood home in the countryside, seeking understanding and resolution with her parents. As she watches her son play as she once did, she begins to form new memories and look towards the future. This journey reveals new strength, grounded in self-awareness and acceptance.
Sorry I’m Not Sorry not only reflects LJK's personal story but also resonates with the wider late-discovered autistic community and neurotypical people, inviting empathy and a deeper understanding.
Sorry I’m Not Sorry is commissioned as part of In Focus, a partnership between Photoworks and Aspex Portsmouth and part of the Explorers Project, a national creative programme to increase the visibility and representation of neurodivergent artists in contemporary visual arts, led by Project Art Works with cultural partners nationwide. Explorers is supported by Arts Council England and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Through autobiographical and archive photography, LJK uses cutting and collaging techniques to explore self-discovery, confrontation of life’s traumas and experiences that have shaped her existence.
These fragmented and reassembled self-portraits serve as a visceral expression of the autistic experience. They capture the frustration of perpetual misunderstanding and an incapacity to articulate inner turmoil. The images encapsulate the alienation and loneliness experienced and the exhaustive effort to conform.
Using old family photographs, she reconstructs and reinterprets childhood memories; a process of dismantling and piecing together her identity to understand her past. LJK returns to her childhood home in the countryside, seeking understanding and resolution with her parents. As she watches her son play as she once did, she begins to form new memories and look towards the future. This journey reveals new strength, grounded in self-awareness and acceptance.
Sorry I’m Not Sorry not only reflects LJK's personal story but also resonates with the wider late-discovered autistic community and neurotypical people, inviting empathy and a deeper understanding.
Sorry I’m Not Sorry is commissioned as part of In Focus, a partnership between Photoworks and Aspex Portsmouth and part of the Explorers Project, a national creative programme to increase the visibility and representation of neurodivergent artists in contemporary visual arts, led by Project Art Works with cultural partners nationwide. Explorers is supported by Arts Council England and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
CREDIT
