“Staring is a type of look that isn’t returned; consuming rather than collaborating with the other. It is the opposite of intimacy and equity: it’s a gaze that strips the subject of their agency.” G. Sian

Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) showcases new photography and moving image by artist Ashokkumar D Mistry as part of his ongoing series Don’t Stare.

Originally commissioned by Onyx Collective at Disability Arts Online, Don’t Stare (2022) incorporates generative and symmetrical portraits of the artist taken by others; in this instance IYP. Using collage, IYP has collaborated with Mistry on his process of making photographic images. The resulting work touches on how our perception of ourselves does not match that of others.

Treading a fine line between the hyper-visible and overlooked, the photo series is accompanied by Mistry’s film Don’t Freak (2022), which similarly conjures a type of seeing that is oppressive and unreciprocated. In the context of disability discourse — where the uninvited look, or stare, becomes a form of violence — the work affronts the gaze. 

This project is co-created with Ikon Youth Programme on Slow Boat, supported by Freelands Foundation.

About the artist  

Ashokkumar D Mistry is a proudly Leicester-based, Neurodivergent multidisciplinary artist, writer, researcher, activist and curator working in the UK and internationally. Subverting technologies and ideologies, he challenges conventional ways of making and viewing art. Mistry’s research scrutinises differences in expanding our understanding of the human condition. A co-founder of the Disability in British Art Research Group, part of the British Art Network, Mistry has written extensively for Disability Arts Online. @ashokdmistry

About Ikon Youth Programme 

With the support of Freelands Foundation, over three years (2021-24) Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) navigates the waterways on board Slow Boat, a converted narrow boat. IYP are collaborating with creative thinkers and makers to reimagine Slow Boat as a local art school.