Denoria Hurst

Kris's World is a photo series about the documentation of my little brother exercising his self-expression and observing how he navigates through his childhood with his current diagnosis of ADHD and Autism. This series is a photo book that contains staged photographs to showcase my brother by capturing his various sides through family dynamics, future possibilities, and his inner imagination.

This series aims to help uplift my brother and empower people and the families of people impacted by the autism spectrum and people with disabilities to be a strong voice of support and awareness. I wanted to explore and capture this journey with him through photography; in hopes, to spark a discussion about not treating kids with autism differently, but treating all kids with this diagnosis with care and catering to their mental health. Just because one has been diagnosed with a disorder, should they not be able to live a productive life? Should they not be entitled to living a meaningful life and want the same things in life as we do?

However, other photographers have photographed family members and other subjects with this diagnosis, and there have been societal and media representations of autism and ADHD. More importantly, I found this work to be valid and profound because of the lack of representation for people of color and to point out that autism does not look the same for everybody. Nevertheless, I hope my work will convey a strong sense of awareness, love, compassion and show his growth and learning abilities to conquer his journey with Autism and ADHD to live a long joyful life.