(Self-portrait as human black swan): What is assumed, what is expected, what is invisible, what is very clear: the air is more buzzy, things feel more expansive, there’s a lightness to the air molecules and a depth of feeling. A human with autism, or an autism with human, or a swan with hands? I’m definitely something…

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Sometimes people separate themselves from animals. Sometimes I relate to animals more easily than creatures that identify as human. When I go non-verbal I can still talk without words. I’ve never needed words to talk with horses.

I’ve been riding my bike around Albert Park Lake mimicking swan calls. I’m pretty sure I can make a call that says “the weeds over here are really nice”, and another one that says “I’m really confused. Are you a swan?” I can make some very good mating calls. One time I got 30 swans to swim over to me, they were excitedly flapping their wings along the top of the water and calling back to me. It was the most beautiful sound landscape of my life.

Sometimes I’m not really sure how to let people know when I’m into them. I can always say in the coo and squawks of female and male identifying swans “I want to have sex and mate forever.” We all make life choices.

Concept & Artwork: Mishka