- Mary McIver, Edinburgh Artist
A new exhibition by blind Edinburgh photographer, Rosita McKenzie, will be launched in Central Library on 11th August as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. Edinburgh People, presents a series of local portraits as diverse as a young couple with their first, newly born son; Edinburgh’s Poet Laureate; the softer face of a local politician; and the back view of a ‘very private’ visual artist.
To engage the widest possible audience, the exhibition will be supported by a series of raised drawings created by Camilla Adams and audio descriptions read by Rachel O’Connor.
“I use digital photography and inclusive interpretation techniques to make the visual world visible to visually disabled people. I also aim to bring the world of the blind person’s imagination into the open for sighted people to see…By its very nature, my artwork challenges traditional photographic practice and portraiture in that subjects are not expected to gaze into the camera lens. Instead, with Edinburgh People, my intension was to capture the natural and ‘pure’ essence of each subject, not an artificial image, created by a contrived pose or special lighting.” (Rosita McKenzie, 2010)
Rosita began her career as a specialist in visual art and visual disability in the early 1980s. Working with major UK galleries and museums, she has been instrumental in changing attitudes towards visually disabled participation in the visual arts. In 2006, she was invited by Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh to create her first photographic exhibition: Two Voices . Rosita’s photography career has gone from strength to strength and she recently established the Revealed Photographic Group to encourage and support other visually disabled photographers and the artists.
Edinburgh People will run in Central Library from 12 August. Virtual access to the artwork is available on Capital Collections.
Rosita will discuss her work alongside collaborators David Grinly and Camilla Adams in Central Library in a free event in Central Library on 18th August 2-3pm.
