(We are) Paths, 2021
This photographic work explores the theme of people with "High Intellectual Potential", sometimes also called « gifted ones », « neuro-atypical » or « zebra ».
This genetic specificity affects the neuronal connections and is responsible for the increased speed of data processing by the brain, often done in a "star" or tree structure. The intelligence of these beings is therefore not quantitatively superior, but qualitatively different. To resume, they do not think better than others, but differently. This way of functioning and perceiving the world generates in most cases much more suffering than imagined by the collective consciousness. Indeed, intrinsically linked to this, and to mention just a few examples, are: hypersensitivity (cognitive and sensory), a feeling of constant mismatch with those around them, a fear of failure (excessive perfectionism), low self-esteem or constant questioning (impostor syndrome), a need for meaning and logic in daily life, a sometimes excessive empathy...
HIP people are often compared to "sponges". Capable of perceiving their environment and the emotions of others extremely easily through a rapid analysis of expressions, gestures or the intonation of the voice. This automatic and non-voluntary decoding of others can lead to stress and emotional fatigue. Over-adaptation is also a common mechanism among gifted people. The fear of disappointment is a feeling often evoked, fed by the image of the "little genius" to whom everything should succeed without difficulty. The overawareness of the environment around them and the lack of logic established in everyday life can sometimes lead a zebra to isolate himself or herself, or even enter into a recurring depression mechanism.
"I'm trying to learn, over time, not to be ashamed of who I am, to have a well-functioning brain, even if I rarely talk about it. In order to take ownership of these constant waves that crash into me, I like to imagine that they are fluids, filled with colours, similar to energies. They flow through my body but also through the world around me. We are like paths, beings that serve as passages to the complex and tortuous beauty of our world. "
AP
