Sigiloso (1 in 31), 2025 

31 upcycled paper offcuts, fishing line

dimensions variable

Sigiloso (1 in 31) depicts 31 hand-cut paper puzzle pieces installed hung from the ceiling. The individual puzzle piece first appeared associated with Autism in 1963 as the logo of the National Autistic Society of the UK. Offered up to depict how puzzling and befuddling Autism was (and therefore correlated to suffering), the symbol has become associated most notably with peer-identified hate group Autism Speaks. I’ve reimagined the puzzle piece motif outside of the punitive environment of origin, appropriated in a protected setting as delicate, whimsical.

data compiled in 2025 by the American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention cites Autism diagnoses are estimated at 1 in 31 people born after 2014, or 3.2%, an increase from 1 in 36 in 2023, and 1 in 44 in 2021. (https://www.cdc.gov/autism/data-research/index.html). In the same breath, Autism is being exhibited as constituting an epidemic, encouraged by catastrophising statements from the American Department of Health and Human Services (https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/autism-epidemic-runs-rampant-new-data-shows-grants.html). With Sigiloso (Español: discreet, stealthy, confidential), I intend to encourage audiences to consider whether lifelong neurodevelopmental disabilities should ever be classified under the purview of epidemiology. I hope to remind an unsure public of the real voices behind Autism diagnoses, the vitality of platforming our lived-experience, and to emphasise that we unequivocally belong.

consistent with Mikell’s practice, this piece is composed entirely of repurposed materials diverted from cycles of disuse, in an effort to mitigate industry waste. As a result, imperfections to the surfaces of frames and canvases are to be expected. Please contact the artist with further inquiries about production.