Gallery Collection 101 - ‘Assembled Smile’

This painting uses bright yellow and simple black forms to create a familiar smiley face, but its grin is built from dozens of tiny, multicoloured smiley beads. In the context of neurodiversity, the piece reads as a statement on masking and multiplicity.

The bold, singular yellow face suggests the social expectation to appear "fine" or "happy" at a glance, while the smile itself fractures into many smaller, unique expressions. Each bead holds its own colour and texture, reflecting how neurodivergent people often manage a spectrum of internal states behind a single outward presentation.

The tactile, repetitive process of placing each bead also speaks to stimming, pattern-making, and the comfort of ritual. There is joy here, but it’s assembled: deliberate, piece by piece, and intentionally diverse. The work pushes back on the idea that there is one way to smile, think, or feel. It celebrates that collective wellbeing can be made from many different parts, and that authenticity for neurodivergent minds often means letting all the small, colourful pieces show.