A double exposure self portrait of Alice Wingwall.

Video: Meet Blind Photographer Alice Wingwall at LightHouse

Although the notion of a blind photographer may strike some as counterintuitive, for Alice Wingwall, it couldn’t be a more natural form of expression. “Almost everyone asks the same question: “How can you possibly, how can you [take photographs]?” she observes. “I realize they are making a statement, not asking a question… My response is that any photograph begins as an idea in the brain.”

This November, we’re thrilled to host a special exhibition of work by acclaimed blind photographer Alice Wingwall at our headquarters starting on Thursday, November 9.

Vivid and complex, Wingwall’s photographs often incorporate double exposures and overlaid, juxtaposed images. Her work explores a wide range of subjects, from European architecture to self-portraits and sumptuous landscapes of the California coastline. Wingwall often works in collaboration with her husband, architect Donlyn Lyndon, as well as other designers, artists, friends and family to fine-tune her camera angles and, in editing, to select her favorite images.

Beyond photography, Wingwall has created works using textiles, sculpture and multimedia collages as well. She began studying art at Indiana University before receiving degrees at the University of California, Berkeley and in Paris at the École du Louvre, the Ecole Metiers d’Art (stained glass studio), and the Atelier del Debbio for stone carving. She subsequently taught at the University of Oregon Honors College and helped found the sculpture program at Wellesley College.

Her photographic work is featured in the exhibition “Sight Unseen,” mounted by the California Museum of Photography in Riverside and now touring various cities internationally. A film about her work, “Miss Blindsight: the Wingwall Auditions,” which she co-edited, premiered as the Best Independent Film of the Year 2000 at the New England Film and Video Festival.

We hope that you’ll join us for drinks and refreshments on Thursday, November 9 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. at LightHouse for the Blind (1155 Market Street, in the ground floor lobby) to explore Alice’s work and to learn more about her process and passion for photography.

More about past art openings at LightHouse for the Blind: Meet Charles Blackwell, jazz painter.

Donate to support arts programming at LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

RSVP to dbrown@lighthouse-sf.org by November 6.