DYSPLA_motion: Neurodivergent Physicality perceived through playful Animated Augmented Reality Sculpture
Restriction of movement restricts neurodivergent thought. Cognitive or physical, ideation or migration. DYSPLA’s investigation of the neurodivergent aesthetic requires motion.
With the support of the British Council and guided by Sensory Anthropologist Dr Ruth Gibbons and her innovative research; a collective of DYSPLA artists from New Zealand and the United Kingdom will create a series of 3D Augmented Reality (AR) Performative Digital Sculptures. We will address the stigma of the disabled body and interpret the concept of ‘Neurodivergent Physicality”. Displayed at Massey University & Online, June 2025.
More details about how to get involved below.
More details about how to get involved below.
Artist: DYSPLA, Dr Ruth Gibbons, Ehetere Rua &
Jack Remiel Cottrell
Title: DYSPLA_motion: Neurodivergent Physicality perceived through playful Animated Augmented Reality Sculpture
Year: 2025
Digital Sculpture: 6 x .gITF, 100mb (approx)
Film: 6 x 60-180 sec, 4k, .mp4
Billboard Posters: 12 x (1x1.5m) Blue Backed Billboard Paper, 350gsm
Text: 3000 words (approx)
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Title: DYSPLA_motion: Neurodivergent Physicality perceived through playful Animated Augmented Reality Sculpture
Year: 2025
Digital Sculpture: 6 x .gITF, 100mb (approx)
Film: 6 x 60-180 sec, 4k, .mp4
Billboard Posters: 12 x (1x1.5m) Blue Backed Billboard Paper, 350gsm
Text: 3000 words (approx)

Sign up to Online workshops here
UPCOMING EVENTS
⚫ 1st/2nd June 2025 - 8pm GMT+1 / 7am NZST
ONLINE WORKSHOP - Theme - DYSPLA_motion project in New Zealand, supported by the British Council.
⚫ 6th June - 12-2.30pm NZST
PHYSICAL (IRL) EXHIBITION & TALK - supported by the British Council.
Massy University, Albany Campus, Auckland, New Zealand
PAST EVENTS
⚫ 6/7th April 2025 - 8pm GMT+1 / 7am NZST
ONLINE WORKSHOP - Theme - Restraint, with Dr Ruth Gibbons, supported by the British Council.
⚫ 4/5th May 2025 - 8pm GMT+1 / 7am NZST
ONLINE WORKSHOP - Theme - Movement, with Dr Ruth Gibbons, supported by the British Council.
About the Artists
DYSPLA is a disabled-led, award-winning collective of artists producing and developing the work of Neurodivergent storymakers. DYSPLA makes art and conducts research into the Neurodivergent Aesthetic with a focus on short form narrative. We work in Digital, Print, Poetry, XR and Installation to elucidate a new artistic aesthetic defined by the cognitive difference of neurodivergence. DYSPLA.com @DYSPLA_festival
Dr Ruth Gibbons is a Sensory Anthropologist who works in different mediums to explore the experiences and expressions of neurodivergent lives. Her work is multi-layered multi-media - including digital animation, sculpture, soundscapes, experimental film and digital collage. In 2024 Ruth won the 'Sam Taylor-Alexander Researcher Prize for Ethic's and Engagement within Anthropology' for her work in neurodivergence. She is also an entrepreneur running N@U an online courses to empower neurodivergent University students and Ponderables a research company focusing on supporting neurodivergent movement. ruth-gibbons.com
Ehetere Rua is a neurodivergent multi-disciplinary artist based on the outskirts of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, of Māori (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui) and European (Cornwall, Normandy) descent. Emerging theatre and film maker - An active rising member of Aotearoa's street dance community as 'ENIGMA' - Contributor to visual arts collective 'MOA EGG ART' - Designer and owner of 'ROUND PEG', a whimsical goth fashion label re-imagining and embodying liberated femininity. Tripleviolet.space @ehetere_enigma
Jack Remiel Cottrell (Ngāti Rangi) is an short fiction writer from Te-Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa with an expensive rugby refereeing habit. His debut flash fiction collection Ten Acceptable Acts of Arson and other very short stories won the Wallace Foundation prize, and was published in 2021 by Canterbury University Press. His forthcoming book, The Emotion Dealer, will be out in October 2025. jackremiel.co.nz @jackremiel
Pohutukawa tree photogrammetry by Bryn Nealie @brynnealie

