Blind Spot

2014 - ongoing

Acrylic spray on c-print, 20 works 42 x 59,4 cm each
Pen on paper, 4 works 21 x 29,7 cm each

Banner in public space, variable size

The title Blind Spot is borrowed from ophthalmology. A blind spot is a small area on the retina without light-sensitive receptors. Every normal human eye deals with it in order to receive an image. To contemplate, or cognitively render the image meaningful, we rely on our own knowledge and memory without taking into account that we are continuously constructing reality.  During the disease of Scotoma or Glaucoma the blind spot can be perceived – from the small spot to the total darkness that «fills in» the eye. Ridnyi uses this concept as a metaphor for our society in a state of media war. In the artwork different shapes from the visual effects caused by Scotoma were implemented on the found images of war-torn areas in East Ukraine (landscapes, street views, buildings). This juxtaposition is based on similarity between  the ways in which disease destroys human vision, and the ways in which media propaganda destroys our ability to reflect on social and political reality. The Blind Spot also raises a question about the relativity of violence and calmness, and (im)possibility of peace in the context of Ukraine which since 2014 exists in a constant threat of Russian war of aggression.