I have created a series of moving images to illustrate my struggle against my Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Creating something seemingly perfect, in an endless loop of what is inversely pointless, seems to me like a near perfect metaphor. Living with ADD can often feel like a battle with the self to stay on track with one task before starting the next or getting distracted by a multitude of completely menial tasks along the way. I was diagnosed when I was 13 but only recently have come to understand what ADD actually is; “a highly genetic, brain-based syndrome that has to do with the regulation of a particular set of brain functions and related behaviours.” I have found ways of dealing with it through medication to the point that it is rarely an issue when I need it not to be. However if for some reason I do not take my medication and find myself in a situation where I am required to stay focused for an extended period even the simplest of tasks can become a challenge.

In previous projects I have attempt to illustrate ADD in various abstract forms. In this one I have tried to represent how living with it can feel. The project was loosely structured around the concept of a rube Goldberg Machine, “a machine intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overly complicated way” if you remove the first few words in this definition you end up with a relatively sound description of how it feels to complete a task for someone with ADD.