Aphra O’Connor is a British artist whose ceramic sculptures translate the internal experience of neurodivergence into abstracted forms. Working primarily in clay and drawing, she explores her daily experiences of living with ADHD and autism. Translating these feelings into ‘inner landscapes’.

Works draw inspiration from defined present feelings and investigate possible futures. Variations of forms and colours speak to a clarity in understanding her current mental state which is reflected in definite shapes and bold colours whilst ethereal forms and pastel tones consider her unknown future. 

The sculptures are moments in time, and the objects she dissects reflect what she sees and what she physically feels around her, capturing a snapshot of living with AuDHD. The objects are then painted in ways that work with and against the form, adding further tension with repeated compositions that hark back to her drawings.

Aphra allows audiences into her daily life through her practice, speaking about how she interacts with the world with all the joys and stresses existing brings. She experiments with how she uses clay, in pulling and stretching and fracturing the forms she investigates how the stresses and pressures of making can be reflected through ceramic processes.