1 Matching Annotations
  1. Feb 2021
    1. The able-bodied individual moves through the art space with very little consideration as to how it is constructed to cater to their comfort, causing distinct discomfort and challenge for all those who are not able-bodied like them. Navigating the art space as an ill/ disabled individual, one becomes hyperaware of the stark lack of accessibility. It is vitally important to understand that the othering of the disabled body in the physical space of the museum correlates directly to the stark lack of representation of sick/ disabled bodies in the artwork exhibited, and in the artists represented. The lack of accessibility within the art space creates a closed feedback-loop, where the sick/ disabled are unrepresented, and treated as anomalous visitors. The hostility of the space discourages or altogether prevents disabled individuals from fully entering the space, cementing a vicious cycle of exclusion. These systems of (mis)representation are built to keep the sick and disabled hidden away, taboo bodies treated as anomalies.

      This reminds me of the way different bodies have been Othered in exhibition spaces, from "circus freaks" to the "Venus Hottentot."