A grid of 12 images featuring single use disposable masks

Sophie Taylor

Opsis explores sight and blindness through the combination of braille and photography. The project developed from the genetic condition Retinitis Pigmentosa that runs in my family, meaning that one day I could find myself with this condition and, eventually, lose my eyesight. Family album images, taken from my family archive, and landscape images, combined with braille, explore the ideas of family, memory, and sight, and the changes which occur over time. Each image is a physical artefact which has been physically manipulated, using a slate and stylus, to write braille onto each photograph, allowing me to teach myself this language and pass this opportunity onto the viewer.
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Cropped as an oval, the background of the image includes pink flowers mixed in around the green leaves of the plants. The braille has been written across the background, and says ‘Jenny 1982’.

‘Jenny 1982’

Cropped as a rectangle, the image focuses around a set of curtains on a window going across the majority of the canvas. The curtains feature orange and green flowers on a cream background, tied up at each end of the window, with white lace curtains covering the glass of the window. Only the top half of the window is visible. The braille goes across the piece, and says ‘Christmas, Dussindale, 1990s’.

‘Christmas, Dussindale, 1990s’

The image features the back of a physical photograph. The paper is cream, with some visible stains and creases. The brand ‘Agfa-Brovira’ is printed twice on the paper, and show at the top and bottom left. The braille goes across the centre of the piece, and says ‘John On Stage’.

‘John On Stage’

Cropped as a rectangle, the image has been taken at Disneyland. It features a woman standing with someone in costume to have their picture taken, but they are only visible from the waist to the bottom of their legs. The woman is standing in front of a bench, and is wearing a bright, multi-coloured, checked dress, while the other person is dressed in a light grey mouse costume with a pink bow. The braille goes across the image, and reads ‘Epcot Centre, Disneyland, Florida, Oct 92.’

‘Epcot Centre, Disneyland, Florida, Oct 92.’

Cropped as a square, the black and white image features four people shown from the waist down. The woman on the left is wearing a white skirt and black heels with a black handbag. The man next to him is wearing black shoes, trousers, and jacket, and is standing with his legs crossed. The woman next to him is wearing a white checked skirt, with heels, a white handbag, and a grey jacket. The man next to her is wearing light grey trousers and a checked-patterned jacket. His shoes aren’t visible. The braille goes across the image and reads ‘July 23rd 1950 Peter, Eileen, Neville’.

‘July 23rd 1950 Peter, Eileen, Neville’