Protanopia by Erin Sweeny investigates color blindness—the decreased ability to see color or differences in color—in literal and metaphorical terms. Visual diagrams, photographs, and text are interwoven in a conversation about how we process the space that surrounds us.
Recognized as the most common form of color blindness, protanopia is a red-green color deficiency caused by an inherited trait most often found in males. It is typically diagnosed using a series of color perception diagrams known as the Ishihara test. Inspired by experience with the diagrams coupled with hazy memories of her colorblind father, Protanopia is an exploration of space, color and ways of seeing. The book combines risograph printed photographs taken on New York City streets and classic Ishihara test patterns, juxtaposed with the artist’s serendipitous correspondence with an unknown neighbor. The photographs, taken in the blocks surrounding a small post office box on Canal Street, reference the origin of The Landing Project— an ongoing work inspired by the physical dimensions of her first New York address.
Ritualized actions, often religious in nature, form a stage where sites, words and objects are elevated. Erin Sweeny questions ideas of ritual and objecthood by re-contextualizing them in a system of beliefs focused on the experience of place. Using lens-based media and process-oriented interventions, she integrates movement, repetition, found materials and media as a means of exploring physical and social landscape. - Small Editions