Visual Identity & Event Photography
Entoptic
Created in part as a BFA Exhibition in pursuit of BFA in Photography & Entrepreneurial Studies and through the CARAS Grant provided by Temple University.
About the Project
Entoptic is a multimedia project that focuses on phosphenes –– a type of visual phenomenon –– and creating a commentary on the connection between the body, pain, and time. Using performance, digital image creation, and scientific investigation, I worked with a team of artists who have movement and technical knowledge to visually recreate the phases in which phosphenes show up during my own experiences with migraines. A dancer, adorned in vibrant colors, represents the forms –– and through long exposure photographic techniques the performer is able to become those “stars” in our eyes. This interplay of light, shadow, and color in combination with different photographic techniques is designed to recreate the visual field we see when our eyes are closed during a moment of pain or external pressure.
The disorienting beauty of these images stems from my own experiences with headaches and migraines. My aim is to immerse viewers in the feeling of these visual disturbances that affect those who suffer from migraines with aura, ocular migraines, visual snow syndrome and more. This body of work creates a connection between the observer and sensation through various mediums which aims to encourage different ways of looking at the world of entoptic phenomena and its sources.
This project is made up of two main sections, a video and series of photographic images. The video below was created in part under the CARAS Grant courtesy of Temple University.
Photos
The following images were created as a series in order to fulfill the BFA requirements for Tyler School of Art & Architecture's Photography Program. It is the creation of these images that informed the videos final layout and visual effects.
These photographs were created digitally utilizing long exposure techniques and advanced strobe effects. The addition of fabric and movement within the shot allowed for the human form to take on new shapes and a larger area of space. The incorporation of motion within these images was not designed to obscure the human form, but rather incorporate it into the recreation of what a phosphene may look like.
Books
Throughout the development of this project one of the most important parts to me was documenting the creative and technical process. This documentation took on its primary form through a series of books that chronicle exercises in creative experimentation and the overall process involved in bringing Entoptic to life. Throughout these books I wanted to incorporate the other voices involved in addition to my own, so some portions of writing feature interviews with the crew from the production along with a collaborative publication between myself and Dani Goldman, a fellow Tyler student (D&I '25) who was the choreographer for the project.
The Exhibition
In the fall of 2024 I displayed the entire body of work relating to Entoptic in a combination CARAS Grant and BFA Exhibition in Tyler School of Art & Architecture's Stella Elkins Gallery. This display features a table of books, large scale adhesive and fabric based prints, lighting and projection elements, and a viewing structure that featured the video created on a loop.
