Vulnerability inVisibility

This work explores expectations and limitations of the senses in regard to human interaction. As Western culture grows more and more touch-averse, we rely on visual representation to navigate a majority of our communication. Loss of a more physical engagement with others and the world around us provokes me to explore personal boundaries and to question the integrity of sight. Humans have a primal longing to connect and share intimacy, which can induce a feeling of vulnerability. Therefore, we also have a conflicting desire to remain disconnected, anonymous, and un-touched. I challenge the notion of “to see is to know” by asking an individual who is blind to describe the physical identity of several sighted persons, lessening their vulnerability by giving them a sense of invisibility. The images here challenge the viewer’s sense of sight through expectations of photographic portraiture, replica, and denial of knowledge. By creating synesthetic viewing experiences, I reveal complexities of the internal world of sight versus the external world of touch and the disparity in the level of engagement and intimacy between them.