Tori Mullins
Field of Vision
My maternal grandmother helped raise me and played a crucial role in my upbringing. In her seventies, she was diagnosed with macular degeneration. Macular Degeneration is an inherited, degenerative disorder that results in gradual blindness. The macula, located in the back of the eye, deteriorates over time causing the gradual blindness. For my thesis I painted a series of images that represent the limited amount of sight my grandmother possesses. Considering her limited field of vision, she remains independent and cooks, reads, watches TV, and attends church functions. I documented my grandmother鈥檚 routine and represented how she visualizes the world. The paintings sit within shadow boxes. Each box has two sliding plexiglass slides that are sanded to varying degrees that when in front of the painting help the viewer understand gradual vision loss. This interactive element to my work helps the audience to immerse themselves into my grandmother鈥檚 field of vision. My goal throughout this process has been to raise awareness about my grandmother鈥檚 condition. I want to start a conversation about other鈥檚 struggles using my grandmother鈥檚 experiences with macular degeneration.
Thesis committee members:
- Professor Alex Bostic, chair
- Professor Jenna Altomonte
- Professor Lori Neuenfeldt
Go Fish
Lunch
Sunday Service