SIGHT UNSEEN
This exhibition was made possible initially by a photographer named Billy Howard whom had seen my Silver Nitrate work and put me in contact with The Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta Georgia. Upon contacting C.V.I and speaking with Subie Green, I was invited to do an artist in residency at C.V.I, applying much of the same theories and processes I did with Silver Nitrate. The fundamental ideas were the same, however, this time I wanted to further some of the elements I was working with.
I had never been to Atlanta prior to my trip. Because of this, I decided that I would expand the amount of time I would be without sight from the time I left the airport, to the time I got back. This would be more difficult for me to keep my eyes closed so I used a sleep shade when resting, but still primarily relied on simply keeping my eyes closed. The longest I went without the assistance of a sleep shade was approximately six hours.
The other element that changed in Sight Unseen was that instead of choosing to focus on one individual as I did with Lucy Boyle, C.V.I and Atlanta became my subjects. I got to meet many great individuals at C.V.I, as well as spending time with a local Photographer named Oraien Catledge who was visually impaired, but not fully blind.
My friend Kevin Ritchie accompanied me on the trip documenting the experience with video and also being my primary guide in assisting me to get around Atlanta. We later went on to use the footage to create a documentary called Sight Unseen.
The exhibition itself was held at the VSA Arts gallery in Atlanta, which primarily focused on artwork that had been done by, dealt with, or addressed forms of impairments.
These are some of the images used in the exhibition, shots of the installation, the opening and details of the Brailled photographs.