Visual art for the visually impaired: Creating paintings with braille

"I thought it was visually just beautiful — felt like an abstract pattern of dots on a page."

By incorporating braille into her paintings, Gabryel Harrison explores it as a visual medium and uncovers its similarities to art.

"As a painter, I do sometimes think about what would it be like to not have sight," she explains. "It's hard to imagine that."

Watch the video:

Art Minute: Gabryel Harrison

4 years ago

Duration 1:05

Vancouver-based artist Gabryel Harrison uses her art to explore the relationship between braille and art.

Harrison's paintings reflect her fascination with the translation of text to braille, and she compares it to the interpretation of her art. 

"It's like having a book translated from one language to another. What is retained and what is lost?"

"That's where maybe it becomes even more interesting — is that when I'm making a painting, the more accidents that happen, the more interesting the painting becomes."

It's not a concern for Harrison if her art is interpreted differently than it was intended to be. "I haven't actually worried too much about it," she says. "If it doesn't say exactly what I set out to say, that's okay too."

See more of Harrison's work below:

Art Minute is a CBC Arts series taking you inside the minds of Canadian artists to hear what makes them tick and the ideas behind their work.