diapati
I was one of twenty photographers invited by the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted (Norges Blindeforbund) to participate in an exhibition project that has since been shown in Oslo, several European cities, and Tokyo. Never-before-seen paintings by Edvard Munch were presented alongside photographs by Tom Sandberg and works by the participating artists. Each photographer was tasked with visualizing and interpreting a specific ocular defect.
«Diabetes Retinopati» is inspired by the way the brain compensates for blind spots in one's vision by filling them with content drawn from the surrounding visual environment. I found parallels between this phenomenon and the retouching process used in digital photography post-production. Ocular defects can lead patients into difficult social situations and a profound sense of isolation. A glasshouse became the central metaphor for this condition.
The work approaches the subject from both the outside and the inside. The photographs deceive the viewer in subtle ways, creating a situation in which a visual problem is experienced without the viewer being aware of it. What appears unreal at first proves to be authentic, and vice versa.
