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Slow and steady

Artwork by Bex Ollerton

  • Comic
A short 5 panel comic about the ups and downs of life. A girl with pink hair uses a strong, iron pickaxe to smash into a stone block that's in her path. The narration reads, 'as I've gotten to know myself better and develop coping strategies, life has become a little easier.' In the second panel, the block disappears with a 'poof.' The pink haired girl triumphantly waves her arms in the air and says, 'nice!' In the third panel, the narration reads, 'But the reality is that things are always going to be harder than I want them to be.' The pink haired girl leaps into the air while three more blocks descend from above and crash around her. She lets out a terrified 'Eek!' In the fourth panel, the pink haired girl has made a shelter amidst the stone blocks. Huddled inside, she says, 'it's OK to rest for a bit,' while the narration reads, 'Even so, I'm not going to punish myself for being neurodivergent or for struggling with my mental health.' In the final panel, we see the pink haired girl from a distance, climbing a monumental pile of stone blocks. With her pickaxe firm in hand, she tells herself 'slow and steady, slow and steady.' The narration reads, 'All any of us can do is to do our best with what we have. I have to believe that's enough.'
Slow and steady. © Bex Ollerton for Wellcome Collection.

About the artist

Bex Ollerton

Bex Ollerton is a full-time comic artist from Lancashire. She is known for her introspective comics about mental health, neurodivergence and the general struggles of being a human being in an overwhelming world. As a physically disabled autistic artist with ADHD, she cares greatly about raising awareness through graphic medicine, and her goal is to use comics to discuss things that can be hard to talk about. When she’s not drawing or making comics, she enjoys playing piano and definitely remembering to take care of her far too many house plants. You can find her work online under the handle Schnumn.