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Art that makes the invisible visible

A new exhibition looks at life through the eyes of students with disabilities
March 19, 2014
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By Salima Punjani


Image courtesy of Fanny Fig
Image courtesy of Fanny Fig.


For one Concordia student living with a disability, a photograph of a room with blindingly bright lights serves as a visual metaphor to describe the effects of medication.

Another picture, taken by Fine Arts student Sera Kassab, shows her hands — butterfly-like and full of large colourful rings — covering her eyes: the intention is to show that beauty is in the unseen.

These images are among 20 pieces that will be showcased in See ____ through my eyes, an exhibition organized by Student Services’ Access Centre for Students with Disabilities (ACSD) as part of an awareness campaign about disability and the services the centre provides.

“You have this thing weighing on your shoulders,” says a student participant, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a year ago, who prefers to remain anonymous.

“Physically, there’s not much I can do about it, but at least I can try and be proactive about how I approach the disease. And I think art is a really strong way to do that.”

Photo by Sera Kassab
Participatory photography gives a voice to those who may not otherwise be heard. | Photo by Sera Kassab

According to Gordon Dionne, manager of the ACSD, “About 50 per cent of ACSD students have an invisible or an emerging disability.” He organized the event to spread the word about the centre and disability on campus.

For the show, Dionne decided to employ a popular participatory photography approach that encourages people to share their experiences through visual storytelling.

“I felt uncomfortable deciding what the message should be for students,” says Dionne. “This vehicle allows people living with disabilities to voice what their experience is. Why not hear it from the people themselves?”

Students fill in the blank in the exhibition’s title, See ___ through my eyes, with whatever word resonates with them. They then take a photograph to accompany it. From access to mobility, medication to reading, the array of chosen words and accompanying photographs allow viewers to see through the lens of people living with disabilities.

Dionne hopes the exhibition will provide an opportunity for students to feel empowered by expressing themselves and explaining what life is like with a disability.

The anonymous participant agrees. “I think that creative expression is a really strong way to not only help other people to understand, but also to help you deal with those kinds of challenges yourself.”

The See____through my eyes exhibition will be open to the public in the EV Atrium of the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex (1515 Ste-Catherine St. West) on March 27 and 28. A professional video documenting this participatory photography experience and exhibition will be available online in April.

For more information, visit Concordia’s Access Centre for Students with Disabilities.
 



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