I started off my letter with the observation that art is a personal expression, and that social dysfunctioning is one of the key criteria in autism and is often one of the biggest barriers for individuals with ASD who might otherwise be considered high functioning. People with ASD are often less able to rely on contextual clues and so cannot piece together meaning.
I wanted to research creating safe spaces, wherein the barriers of interpersonal distance can be explored. A critical part of social interaction is the regulation of interpersonal distance or of physical distance between individuals. And that’s very normal for neurotypicals, but it’s so difficult when you’re atypical, and it can lead to inadvertent miscommunication, aggression, defensiveness or disinterest etc.
An intense sensitivity towards sound is also a very common ASD-problem, sound levels must be below 45 db, this is almost library quiet. There is actually this interesting passage that Charles Babbage wrote down, it’s a list of instruments of torture permitted by the government to be used day and night in the streets of London, comprising many instruments and the human voice shouting out objects for sale, concluding that making noises is a violation of interpersonal spaces, making noises is a violent action which destructs space itself.
“Making noises is a violent action which destructs space itself.”
It’s very important to also acknowledge power dynamics, which appear in this because it is not only sound, there are many more ways in which dysfunctions form, like systemic oppression of various marginalized groups, and I’m concluding in the final part of my letter:
“This defines the safe space as a space or environment where a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment or any form of emotional or physical harm. Creating spaces where atypical social distancing behaviours can be shown, welcomed and effectively communicated through the senses creates a platform for the sensitive measurements and developments of individuals with ASD.”
So, that would mean minimising sound levels and being aware of interpersonal communication. Sound is very much one of the first violations when you enter a space, it’s also definitely visuals, but sound is also very up to an individual, you can be deliberately quiet, maybe not completely, but you can definitely work on the sound level you produce. I think that’s one of the key criteria to start working on, making spaces more quiet, so that you allow for personal communication and those emotions that are difficult to express don’t get in the way, where you can safely discuss problems, whichever you feel like.
L: Since we don’t have such policies for being quiet yet, except for libraries, I think, how can your direct environment support you in trying to make a space safer and more accessible for you?
For me, it would be allowing behavioural instincts that I experience to be safely expressed without judgement, where lots of spaces are really judging and inconsiderate of someone who might not experience the space as safe.
A space would be made safer if everyone in there maybe followed certain… I don’t want to call them rules, but redefining social behaviour where people think it’s ok to be very loud, and when someone shows atypical behaviour in the space, any behaviour that is atypical, also expressions of discomfort etc., it can make people re-think how to react to that, and how to design a space in a safe way.
Yeah, for me it would be very nice if people were more considerate about their sound levels. Not when entering a space, it’s very unsustainable when someone doesn’t know me, when they have just met me, but when I ask: ‘Hey, can you be a bit more quiet or can you maybe leave me alone?’, then it would be very nice if they did that.
I’m thinking of maybe a clear example where I implemented this in an artwork… I made an installation of plaster and wool, it was a group project where we were mainly interested in the textural experience of plaster and how it interacts with wool and we noticed that it is very calming to observe the little details; and for me personally that would also be with regards to queerness and autism, where I’m very interested in little details and can also be caught up in them for hours…
There’s a queerness in the act of knitting for example, and also embroidery is often a very feminine associated art, so making that more accessible is very politically engaged, very feminist, generally making spaces more accepting of femme impressions.
The people reading this should all look up Tessa, they’re great, they do so many good things, and they talk about making safe spaces a lot, please listen to them and you’ll learn.
Anyways, for this artwork, I placed an ambient soundtrack there right before you enter the space, so that you feel like you’re sucked into this place and you can just focus on the details and allow your soft side to show, but also maybe be quiet in it and experience it, and not be immediately judgy about ‘I don’t like this’ or ‘Oh, I like this’…
L: So it’s also about taking your time?
And also control, definitely! Like allowing… if the space would be quiet, someone could immediately say ‘I like this’ or ‘I don’t like this’, but when they enter the soundscape they have to figure ‘I’m in an experience’, getting them into the experience of in this case queerness or atypical behaviour allows them maybe to understand it more…
