Naoto Yoshida

Un/Masked is a socially engaged photographic project portraying three young neurodivergent individuals’ lived experiences. Despite the growing understanding of the spectrum of human development, those who are autistic or have ADHD face challenges in their daily lives due to remaining social stigma, forcing them to mask their traits to conform to social norms.　The impetus behind this project arose from a sense of unease regarding my oversimplification of the neurodivergent individuals’ experiences within commercial journalism when I, as a writer, reported on the challenges faced by young Japanese people with disabilities in their job searches in 2019. The collaborative methodology consists of the depiction of the participants’ moments of repose with their re-enactments in their preferred spaces as well as Polaroid images on which they write comments, translating their sensory experiences of daily lives. The project celebrates the ordinary lives of neurodivergent individuals while addressing attitudinal barriers in society.