An exhibition charting the challenges and joys of living with neurodiversity and disability has opened at Roscommon Arts Centre.
Artist Lorraine Tuck, from Oughterard in Co Galway, is the mother of two boys and two girls.
Her sons have autism spectrum disorder and the youngest has additional severe intellectual disability.
'Unusual Gestures' is curated and produced by Photo Museum Ireland and provides insights into the far-reaching implications that neurodiversity and disability present for families.
Lorraine said her work is both subtle and profound.
"My exhibition succeeds in capturing how everyone, neurotypical as well as neurodiverse, forms the centre of their own separate and singular world, while at the same time it celebrates how we are all inescapably inter-connected to the human family tree," she said.
A further series of works in the exhibition focuses on the artist's uncle, Owen. Born in 1972 in Connemara, Owen has Down’s Syndrome and is gender fluid.
At times, Owen chooses to live as a woman called 'Pink’.
Owen/Pink has collaborated with Tuck to produce a series of portraits exploring their fluid gender identity with joyful and refreshing honesty, Lorraine adds.
"At its heart, this exhibition is about love more so than autism or disability. It transcends the documentary genre or issue-based record. My work is all about acceptance and inclusion," she said.
As part of the exhibition, Lorraine will host a number of free photographic workshops to open up communication pathways for children with autism and intellectual disability.
The exhibition runs until the end of March.
