Peeky Blinders
Cotton embroidery thread on acrylic in wood frame, 7.5 x 7.5”, series begun in 2018.
I am interested in language as abstraction, as a form and vessel for meaning: the ways one phrase or word can flex, or even mean something completely different from one person to the next. When a language is unfamiliar, we have to work to understand; when language is inaccessible, it often delineates structures of power. The process of translation reveals meaning, and also offers an opportunity to reshape who has control of a given narrative.
In this work, I, a sighted person, utilize Braille to frustrate the privilege of sight and (visual) literacy, upending who usually has access to art spaces and visual art in general. I stitched black thread through holes in clear acrylic, forming French knots on the surface, which spell out various phrases in Braille. The clear plastic reveals lines of thread connecting each dot, and also allows shadows of the thread to be viewed, confusing the pattern of dots and making them difficult to discern visually. Someone who can read Braille with their fingers does not have this difficulty.
