Jessica Kwenonsontiso Loft is a Canadian First Nations performing and visual artist from the Haudenosaunee/Mohawk's of Kahnawake, located on the south shore of Tiohti:áke/Montreal. Up close and personal is how Jessica approaches her photography, acting, painting, drawing and sculptural works of art. Gifted with artistic talent at a very young age she attributes it to being on the autism spectrum.  Diagnosed late in her late 40s, she finally found the piece of the puzzle as to why her life has always been a struggle socially.  "I love people and socializing, but I get physically drained after events and so prefer spending most of my time alone envisioning ideas, painting and drawing. That gives me energy."  Jessica has studied business administration in college, beauty makeup at career college, English literature at university and received a certificate in General Arts & Science from Concordia University.  She started drawing in early childhood, and since the Covid-19 pandemic, she returned to painting and drawing. She is currently working on a BFA at Concordia University in Fine Arts.  How does autism affect her life? Females on the spectrum are very good at hiding autistic traits and mimicking others and she is no different. It is that very reason she has developed excellent skills in the performing arts as a trained professional actress. She sees the world very differently from neurotypicals. "Human behaviour fascinates me. I never fit in or understood how people were thinking or feeling.  When I would try to tell others how I think or feel there was commonly a disconnect or misunderstanding.  I  feel like I can communicate better through my art.  As I learn more about ASD I understand that these traits are normal for people on the spectrum. I imagine that my artwork is a peek inside my mind. Neurodiversity could be why my work as an Indigenous artist is very different from what one might expect to see in Native American Indian artwork. I'm painting, drawing and sculpting from my own life and experiences as a contemporary neurodiverse indigenous artist in the 21st Century. Art buyers might look at my work and say this isn't Indigenous Art, but it is...because I am. I am different and I accept it more and more each day."  Her artworks range in topics from whimsical to harder more painful subjects and the political. Artwork is her way of grappling with life’s issues, identity and finding peace within.