Sight Specific (2019)

My eyes dance like they're on ecstasy, my whole world continuously shakes -- I don't even know what “still” feels like. My work provides a sensorial experience for audiences to see the world through a new lens in order to initiate an understanding of the limitations of adaptation through endurance. 

The impetus for this work is my enduring interest and exploration of a rare chronic eye condition that I was born with called Nystagmus;  often caused by neurological problems that interfere with the visual developmental process, like causing refractive errors and affecting depth perception, balance, and coordination. My sight affects my proprioception, also referred to as the sixth sense; the perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body. With this condition, I am left with the constant sensation of the world around me infinitely shifting. 

With nystagmus, there is this phenomenon called the null point. The null point is the place the eyes will naturally go to where the shake less than anywhere else. The thing about the null point is that when the eyes drift to it, it’s the most relaxing, calming distraction in the world, like looking through a kaleidoscope. It’s almost like being in a trance. 

The concept behind a kaleidoscope is a structure that is filled with broken bits and pieces, and somehow when you look through one, there is nothing but harmony. The various colors and forms in a kaleidoscope symbolize the hypnotic escape in time of difficulty and self-doubt. 

Confronting perception and transforming my visual experience and interpretation of the world into the language of sculpture is what inspires me to create. While the starting point for each of these pieces, is a personal narrative; my work addresses sight as an obstacle and journey in my everyday life. I am rewarding my viewers with an opportunity to experience the world anew and feel a sense of enduring accomplishment when walking through a space of visual, mental, phenomenological, psychological, and physical understanding.