Unseen

Unseen is a collaboration between Mallorcan baser artist Julian Smith and four individuals with varying degrees of visual impairment from the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind.

The outdoor gallery, based in the Wynwood district, is invisible to the naked eye and only viewable through Braille system or an augmented reality application

The process

Smith’s read a description of a work of art titled Memorizing PCH.
The individuals were asked several questions about what they imagined the piece of art to look like. Smith listened to the recordings and created four new unique pieces of art, bringing each person’s interpretation to life.

The Artworks

01. Memorizing PCH

India Ink, Oil Pastel Media on Arches “Buff”
250gsm Paper
30 x 44 Inches

From the artist,

I provoke myself from time to time document experiences close to me, to re-count moments and respond emotionally. I want to take that moment one step further. Rather than briefly thinking of a moment then shelving it, I wonder how I can add permeance. I approached this piece with that in mind.

There seems to be a similar criteria when I think about an experience. The common factors usually involve an audio / visual narrative of an occurrence, at times intoxicated by a person, place, thing, sound or reaction. Other times a sentence or phrase - all commonly creating my mood. Other, more abstract forms of memory and emotions are directly linked to geography, weather, light, music, scent, etc. Usually accompanied by physical interaction with this environment.

“Memorizing PCH” is a reflection on a mood I can conjure that gives me a deep sense of nostalgia. Thinking back to the time I submerging my self in bodies of water, avoiding wind, perching on canyon cliffs, damp rubber, hand shoulders, expired meters, static piers, all to a treble-hi soundtrack, smelling the slight gasoline tinge navigating through the evening fog of a lopsided, costal landscape.