As a neurodivergent artist, Renske, aims to create work which sparks conversations and welcomes people to think, reflect and even ask questions themselves on what does it mean being neurodivergent on a daily basis?
Renske does this through her spatial installation Ruimte voor Kijken, addressing the act of looking and being looked at. Often a taboo topic, the experience of having a not so comfortable eye contact with strangers is something each one of us experiences all the time - on the street, on the train, in the elevator, etc.
During a tour at Mediamatic, a group of New York high school students sits down to engage with the installation. Before any explanation of the artwork’s idea, they are asked who finds eye contact difficult. One girl, sitting quietly in the corner, raises her hand in excitement and replies: Me! Me! I find it very uncomfortable at times.
When followed by a question if anyone knows what neurodiversity means, the same girl answers: “I know! It means that some people's brains work in a different way! I have autism and ADHD, and find it hard to know what to do in some social situations, eye contact bothers me and I have issues with sounds. But I loved this space, the second I saw it I wanted to enter and touch the fluffy parts.”
During another tour of older students, a similar moment happened, as one 18 year old student stayed longer in the installation, whilst the rest of the group continued with the tour. After the tour ended, he returned to Ruimte voor Kijken and shared that he was very glad to find a space to take a moment to rest after feeling overwhelmed from the school tour, the city and its crowded spaces.
These encounters in the space, reminds us what Ruimte voor Kijken encapsulates - a design which resonates with how neurodivergent people perceive the environment around them. All of our sensorial experiences - how we see, listen, touch direclty result in our social interactions we have between each other.
Anonymous Questionnaire
Throughout her residency at Mediamatic, Renske designed an anonymous questionnaire with the aim to better understand her audience and further develop more projects intersecting spatial design and neurodiversity. 77 individuals took part through filling in the questions giving insights into how they felt in/out the space.
Ruimte Voor Kijken Chart from Anonymous Questionnaire Result - 
Based on the people who answered "I am" and "I suspect I am" on the question if they think they are neurodivergent, the following chart below shows the answers of this specific group on whether the installation felt intuitive or not.
This leads to the conclusion that 73.3% of the neurodivergent or suspectedly neurodivergent individuals felt like the space is made for them more or less.
Even though as an interior installation, Renske's work prompts us to reflect in our daily surroundings and remember that everyone has a different way of experiencing it. From bus stops, public squares to our own homes, Ruimte voor Kijken prompts the question how can we make our spaces that e are on a daily basis more sonseory friendly for both neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals.
