IN CONVERSATION - Robert Fischer's parents tell us about his lockdown

After a short break, my personal interviews during lockdown are back, this time with people that support artists I work with, who are unable to fully communicate themselves. For part ten of my ‘In Conversation’ series we hear from the parents of Robert Fischer, who attends Geyso20 in Germany. Robert’s studio has been closed during this time, so he has been more active at home. Read on for more from his parents Rita and Jürgen …

1. How often has Robert been drawing at home during lockdown in comparison to how often he would normally be drawing?
At home, Robert always has time to draw, while in the studio he could only draw during their working hours. Normally he would go there two days a week, for five hours as a time. He draws at home, spread out across the day, at about the same frequency each day.

2. Do you think his drawing style has changed at all during lockdown or stayed the same?
The drawing style has changed - it has become more precise. The ‘written lines’ contained in the pictures are different depending on his emotion and mood. His respective states of mind are reflected in many different styles that you see in his work. See this scanned sheet to show one example of his current ‘written line’ style.

Recent ‘written line’ work

3. As Robert has little speech, what do you think his work is about and what do you think he is trying to communicate with it?
Robert talks to us a little about what he draws. When drawing, he processes his impressions and experiences very extensively and emotionally. He no longer draws only floor plans of buildings, land and gardens, to which he was more or less limited in the studio.

4. Has Robert been doing anything else during lockdown that he would not normally be doing or learnt any new skills?
During the closure, we unfortunately had to recognise that Robert, as an autistic person, was so heavily burdened with everyday work/life, like so many other people, that he was literally in a trance. Auto aggression also began, like violent punches on his head. However, during his months at home, he has relaxed so much that his natural personality has begun to come to light. He has found his ‘protective’ state again, that he has when he’s in the studio. We have not known him to be this relaxed and balanced for a long time.

Untitled (15), Mixed media on paper, 70x50cm