Painting in Total Darkness

The article adopts an auto-ethnographic approach to examine strategies in which blindness can function as a unique lens of perception, particularly as it relates to the expanded field of painting. Painting, in its current state, steeped in ocularcentrism, continues to uphold ableist ideologies refusing to acknowledge the varied potential of blindness. Disability, specifically blindness, as an art form continues to define its own aesthetic parameters, resisting categorization for which to engage in contemporary art discourse. When blindness is given attention, it is often framed through the lens of tragedy and overcoming, thus perpetuating stereotypes of pity and inspiration. If blind people are to become artists, usually they are introduced to sculpture for its reliance on touch rather than vision, but an art practice informed by one’s own blindness can invoke new kinds of languages, a secret code that sets blind people apart, evading decryption. The article offers a presentation of the author’s own art practice—touching upon various processes, materials, and methodologies of making—through personal reflection, all while developing aesthetic arguments based within the haptic realm.