Gladstone exhibition shines light on neurodivergent creative practice

By Katelyn Dunn

A deeply personal exhibition by Melissa Peacock is offering the Gladstone community a unique insight into neurodiversity, creativity and regional life through the lens of creative practice-led research.

Now on display at the Bruce Hiskins Gallery at CQUniversity's Gladstone Marina campus, the exhibition marks Melissa Peacock's first solo exhibition in a decade and the first public presentation of outcomes from the artist's doctoral research. 

A PhD candidate in CQUniversity Australia's School of Education and the Arts, Melissa Peacock's research explores lived experiences as a late-diagnosed autistic and ADHD woman artist living and working in regional Queensland. 

Diagnosed three years ago at the age of 47, Melissa Peacock said the exhibition offered an intimate exploration of neurodivergent ways of sensing, knowing and being.

"This PhD exhibition explores my lived experience as a late-diagnosed AuDHD woman artist living and working in regional Queensland," Melissa said. 

"Through drawing, sculpture, handmade artists' books, autoethnographic journaling and documentary action-camera footage, I investigate how autistic sensory experiences, menopause, embodied knowledge, memory and place shape my creative practice and understanding of the world." 

The exhibition features 17 works on paper, including a large-scale work created on an upcycled interior blind, alongside 16 sculptural works, handmade artists' books, an extensive autoethnographic journal and a one-hour documentary created from footage captured during a six-month residency at the former Cedar Galleries Arts and Craft Village in Central Queensland.

Central to the exhibition is Melissa's 'stim drawing' practice, which draws on repetitive movements associated with self-regulation in many autistic and ADHD individuals.

For Melissa Peacock, the process is both a creative outlet and an embodied response to sensory experiences, helping her navigate hypersensitivity to light, sound and smell while translating those experiences into visual form.

"Stimming is a gestural, embodied action: it helps with emotional self-regulation, responds to sensory overload, and serves as a creative outlet for me to hyperfocus," she said.

One artwork in particular holds special significance for the artist. Created on an upcycled interior blind gifted by a community member, the piece explores themes of masking, visibility and social anxiety.

"Drawing on it represents how I mask socially: I present an image or version of myself that others can see, while what's behind it stays private," Melissa said

The residency at Cedar Galleries became a central component of the research, enabling the artist to explore the relationship between creativity, place and wellbeing in regional communities.

"The body of work created during the residency, the action-camera footage edited into a documentary, and 30,000 words of autoethnographic journaling show that, for me personally, creative practice-led research has been far more effective than therapy," she said.

A distinctive feature of the exhibition is its immersive documentary experience, with noise-cancelling headphones enabling visitors to engage with the sonic environment that shaped the residency.

"At times, the space I occupy becomes sonically full, particularly when the cicadas were out and active," Melissa said. 

The exhibition also highlights the importance of accessibility, inclusion and representation in both the arts and research sectors, areas that form the focus of Melissa's doctoral studies. 

She hopes visitors leave with a greater understanding of neurodivergence and hidden disability.

"A deeper, empathetic understanding of being neurodivergent and living with a hidden disability, and curiosity about practice-led research," she said. 

Throughout her PhD journey, Melissa said CQUniversity had supported both her academic and artistic development.

"It has created a space for daily critical thinking, driving me to identify problems and create new knowledge on subjects I feel really matter," she said.

Looking ahead, Melissa hopes the exhibition contributes to broader conversations about the value of creativity in regional communities.

"I want regional, rural and remote Australia to better recognise creativity as essential infrastructure for wellbeing, connection and resilience, not as an optional extra, but as a core part of how communities come together to understand and respond to change," she said. 

The exhibition is on display at the Bruce Hiskins Gallery, CQUniversity Gladstone Marina campus, until Friday 13 November 2026. Visitors can meet the artist weekdays from 10am to 2pm.

This research is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship.