The artwork Mary Fashbaugh explores expectations and limitations of the senses in regard to human interaction. As Western culture grows more and more touch-averse, we rely on visual representation to navigate a majority of our communication. Loss of a more physical engagement with others and the world around us provokes her to explore personal boundaries and to question the integrity of sight.

Humans have a primal longing to connect and share intimacy, which can induce a feeling of vulnerability. Therefore, we also have a conflicting desire to remain disconnected, anonymous, and un-touched. I challenge the notion of “to see is to know” by asking an individual who is blind to describe the physical identity of several sighted persons, lessening their vulnerability by giving them a sense of invisibility. Mary Fashbaugh

These images challenge the viewer’s sense of sight; through expectations of photographic portraiture, replica and the denial of knowledge. By creating synesthetic viewing experiences, Mary Fashbaugh reveal complexities of the internal world of sight versus the external world of touch and the disparity in the level of engagement and intimacy between them.

Mary Fashbaugh was born in 1987, in the town of Ironwood, MI. She received her MFA from the University of Notre Dame in May of 2014 and her BFA from the University of MI-Flint in 2011. She has recently exhibited her work at Lillstreet Gallery in Chicago, IL; The Fort Wayne Museum of Art; The Center For Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO; and the Minneapolis Photo Center. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

To see artist Mary Fashbaugh artwork go here

To learn more about artist Mary Fashbaugh go here