"Art often exists as an inaccessible domain for those who are blind or partially sighted. As a result, this community can feel marginalized and neglected. Far too frequently, cultural spaces like galleries and museums rely solely on visual senses, disregarding the potential for alternative modes of meaning-making in art. 

 

The Scales That Fall From Our Eyes borrows imagery from the Biblical story of Saul, using the symbolism of scales to embody the transformative process of shedding prejudiced or inaccessible traditions to surface more just and inclusive practices. By intentionally obscuring visuals and using Braille translations, the artworks in this exhibition invite us to engage with touch and sound, and challenge the conventional modalities of a gallery. It also draws attention to the necessity of including non-sighted audiences in the art community by changing the way we ‘view’ art. 

 

The Scales That Fall From Our Eyes is an invitation to attune into sense and perception, through the abstracted visuals and Braille language works, to interact with art in different ways and to enrich these experiences in non-visual ways."

​

--Olivia Brouwer