After receiving an autism diagnosis during lockdown, artist Alice Nicholls was inspired to create a project that brings awareness of autism by exploring neurodiversity through art - and she’s already gained some celeb followers
Inspirational is unquestionably one word to describe talented Colchester abstract/realism pencil artist Alice Nicholls. Otherwise known as Alice the Autist, she is also a tattoo artist and creator of In Your Hands, a beautiful art project that aims to start the conversation about neurodiversity and art and help enhance awareness of autism.
Alice says her work is inspired by, ‘Human experience, symbolism, body language, neuroscience and hand art history, exploring the deeper meaning of hand positioning and conveying a message.’
The project features the hands of neurodiverse people and supporters of diverse acceptance who share and discuss their personal journeys through her art. Alice says, ‘I love that people feel comfortable talking to me and recognise that having a diagnosis isn’t necessarily a negative thing; it can be your superpower!’
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people communicate and interact with society. According to the National Autism Society, ‘More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK.’ As Alice quotes on Instagram (@alicetheautist), ‘The longer you leave a person with unmet needs, the more damage is done until they burn out completely.’
Alice was diagnosed during lockdown. ‘This was a late diagnosis for me because I was in my 30s, but deep down I knew I was going to be receiving the diagnosis. After my nephews were diagnosed and then their mum (my sister), it just snowballed with my other sister and my mum all receiving the diagnosis.’
According to cdc.gov, diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be difficult because there is no medical test, like a blood test, to diagnose it. Doctors look at the child’s developmental history and behaviour to make a diagnosis.
‘It is a lot harder to diagnose autism for girls because we are trained at a young age to behave very differently to boys,’ says Alice. ‘The whole autism journey is geared up to show traits in boys, and girls kind of get lost in the system. It’s no wonder we all slipped under the radar. Unless you are seriously struggling or showing very obvious stereotypical traits, you are basically forgotten.’
Alice has been a professional fine artist for three years and a tattoo artist for more than 15 years, running The Fine Art of Tattoo in Eld Lane, Colchester. She says following her late diagnosis, she started her master’s degree in fine art, which gave her the opportunity to explore what autism meant to her. ‘When I started my master’s degree, I realised that one of my autistic traits was being a chameleon with everybody around me; I didn’t know what my own interests were.’
Intent on looking forward, Alice is hoping to do a PhD. ‘I’m trying to do more things that scare me otherwise your world just shrinks on you,’ she says. ‘One of the things I came to realise was my entire world was focused in my comfort zone. I own my tattoo business, which means I control my entire world because this is what makes me comfortable. Before, I wasn’t able to hold down a job as an employed person. I think it is too easy for people like me to shrink my world down to what I am comfortable with. This project has given me a good reason to get out of my comfort zone.’
Evidently, this became a breakthrough diagnosis for Alice; it helped her to learn how to be kinder to herself and accept who she really was. ‘You are trying to adapt your whole life to come across as a normal person – I don’t think a ‘normal person’ is the right phrase to use – maybe to try and pass for a human being. Trying to explore yourself is a hard thing to do,’ she says.
‘Studying for my first degree, I had difficulties understanding and asking for help. But when it came to my master’s degree, this was a step forward for me because I was able to ask for help and express my difficulties. Everything makes a lot more sense this time around!
‘Whilst I was studying, I was doing a lot of self portraits and hand portraits; things that were meaningful to me and my situation. However, I reached a point when I realised this is becoming the answer to my situation, and I would like to learn more about other people and their experiences. This is where my In Your Hands project started.’
For Alice, art has proven to have had a positive effect. ‘I have had many people come forward as they have seen autistic traits within themselves and wanted to talk them through with me, which is quite nice.’
Alice has had a lot of interest from celebrities too. ‘Actor and director Sean Cronin, who is best known for playing villains, was great. He has a really good story to tell,’ she says. ‘I think the biggest thing for me is how down to earth they (the celebrities) are about their diagnosis and talking openly about their own traits. There are a lot of similarities and differences in each person's experience, but there is always something to connect over.’
She has also managed to get some impressive academics involved too. ‘Sir Simon Baron-Cohen (a professor in the departments of psychology and psychiatry at University of Cambridge) and Tony Attwood (a clinical psychologist who specialises in Autism Spectrum Disorders) are pretty big players in the autism research area.
‘It isn’t just people who have autism that I have been speaking to, but also people who have been researching it too. It has been lovely hearing their take on how it affects people, how it needs to be changed, how it is perceived in today’s society and how it is changing.’
This summer, Alice hopes to get all the pieces into a gallery or several local galleries with the aim of bringing awareness and connection to its audience. 'One hundred per cent of the money made from selling these art pieces will be donated to local autism charity, Autism Anglia,’ Alice explains.
‘This fantastic charity has helped thousands of people, including myself and both of my boys, where the system has failed to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate neurodiverse needs. My boys are currently going through a diagnosis, and Autism Anglia has been a huge help to me and I want to give something back.’
Alice adds that she is still welcoming people to get involved and is hoping one day to work with Stephen Fry. ‘The next person who has been super interested in being involved in the project is Anne Hegerty from ITV’s The Chase. She’s next!’
alicetheautist.art
