Artist Statement
Living life with multiple disabilities, everything I do is impacted by the unique ways in which my body and mind work. The practice of photography helps me to share my differing views of the world. Whether I am having a hard day, limited to just being in my apartment or I feel well enough to venture out, I can document the things I see and experience through my camera. This ability to create art gives me an outlet and helps me to expand the possibilities of what I am capable of creating as a photographer.
The past year of my life has influenced meaningful reflection on my identity as a disabled individual, leading to the inspiration for this project. This thinking has helped me concentrate more on disability as a whole, as well as the human connection and belonging within art making. My photographic series, Life Through Our Lens, is a product of this first-hand experience with disability. Including personal documentation, the project is expanded to additionally share the stories of two other disabled students through a total of twenty-one images. Exploring these stories of the seeming restraints of our bodies and minds has widened my self-awareness, reflection, and vulnerability in my art.
Disability can be an incredibly isolating part of someone’s identity, as it is easy to be disheartened by the mental and physical struggles we face. Various themes of my life including disability and growing up as a military child have deeply connected me to feelings of belonging and connection. My childhood taught me many forms of human interaction as well as varying ways of life. Consistently meeting new people in new parts of the world, these experiences aided my unique perspective on life, as well as influenced the work I create around connection and belonging. The constant change I experienced in my youth has led me to consistently seek out new experiences, making me want to expand my photographic abilities through this project. Interviewing many students and creating new connections was a vital part of my artistic process in the creation of the series. Forming a meaningful relationship through shared experiences and interests with the people I photographed allowed me to enter vulnerable spaces that held significant meaning to my subjects.
Katherine Radt, archival inkjet prints on mounting board, various sizes, 2024
Madeline Miller, archival inkjet prints on mounting board, various sizes, 2024
Callie Whicker, archival inkjet prints on mounting board, various sizes, 2024