Talking Vision is Vision Australia Radio’s flagship program, discussing the latest news and issues from a blindness and low vision perspective.
Sam catches up this week with musician and disability advocate Jane Britt who returns to Talking Vision to chat about her participation in Last Seen, a multisensory exhibition which explores the last visual memories of 10 participants before experiencing vision loss.
Jane worked together with artist Rick Everingham and composer Tim Davies to bring together her piece “Memory Board for Jane”, a compilation of her fondest memories from her time spent in Italy for Christmas 20 years ago.
For Jane the role of visual memory is crucial to the way she understands the world, and gives her a perspective on how to interact with various environments she finds herself in throughout her daily life after experiencing vision loss.
“For me it’s quite important to hold onto those memories, so I have an idea of what the world is like as it was so when my vision declines I can still see it in my mind’s eye and have an understanding of the world around me,” Jane said.
For Jane there were no feelings of pain or sadness attached to her memories from before experiencing vision loss.
In fact, she recalls that one of the main emotions attached to the memories she shared in her piece was joy, at looking back at one of the happiest times in her life.
“That entire memory sparked joy, I was with friends and family, I was overseas for the first time in my life, experiencing a new environment and having a Christmas completely removed from what I’d ever experienced before,” said.
Listen to the full interview on Omny or in the player below:
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