Alexa Wright, ‘I’ 1 (1998)
Fig.1 Alexa Wright, 'I'1 (1998). Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum. © Alexa Wright. Image courtesy of the artist
Alexa Wright is a celebrated British photographer whose work considers disability and the ways in which non-disabled people react towards it. In her photographic series ‘I’ from 1998, Wright collaborated with disabled people to create semi-self portraits.
In most of these images, Wright subtly superimposed her face on to a disabled body. In the final image however, she superimposed a disabled model’s face onto her body. The images aim to expose how non-disabled people see and focus on disability without considering the individual. Many viewers at first do not necessarily realise that it is the same face in all of the images - until the last photograph in which the opposite is suddenly made clear. It showcases able-bodied people’s discomfort with, and preconceptions of, disability.
In this work, the first image from the series, Wright has worked with artist and model Catherine Long, who was born without a left arm. In this image, Long’s disability is compared to a classical sculpture, which often features missing limbs. The photograph highlights the disconnect between the veneration of classical sculptures and the treatment of disabled people.
Alexa Wright’s series ‘I’ asks the able-bodied viewer to challenge their assumptions about disability and to consider the person before the disability. It asks that we remove the negativity around disability and become more open to a dialogue about inclusivity and accessibility.