When I was born, I was diagnosed with a genetic disorder called oculo-cutaneous albinism. Because of this disorder, I have a visual impairment. The doctor who delivered me told my parents that I was blind, would have mental delays and would have to be sent to a school for the blind. Obliviously none of this is true and thankfully my parents did not accept this diagnosis. After laborious research, they found the support and help I needed to live a life as close to normal as possible.

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Over twenty years ago, albinism was still not a well-known condition, even for doctors. Oftentimes, where I grew up, people who were born different were shunned from society. They were pushed to the side because they were judged incapable of having fulfilling lives, and for being more of a nuisance to society than a contribution. Fortunately, I was taught that nothing was impossible and was given the tools to function as normally as possible in society. I can do whatever an average person can do; I just have to do it in a different way that is adapted to my needs.

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I have beaten many odds and have gone beyond what was expected of me at birth. But, I have come to realize recently that, for most of my life, there has always been a push and pull between being different and wanting normalcy. I have trained myself to look normal to the point where people do not notice that I have albinism or a visual impairment. To the point where I even forget that I have those problems, until suddenly I am confronted with a hindrance. Usually, it is the struggles with low vision, however sometimes it is also about albinism as a whole. There is no way for someone to really understand what oculo-cutaneous albinism is unless they have spoken to someone who has it or have done research on the condition. Generally, what most people know are misconceptions of albinism because of old myths popularized by the media. Therefore, I have had people tell me ignorant things and even doubt me when I tell them I have albinism because I do not look like the stereotypical albino. But, it is true that my external appearance is not like most albinos. Which makes me sometimes feel alone because I have not yet seen someone with my type. I am actually unaware of the one I have out of the seven types that have been discovered so far.

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Most of my work is inspired by my experiences with albinism, the stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding it. In this working process I am trying to not only measure its part in my identity, but also experiment with different ways in which I can create a visual language that educates people about albinism. It also poses questions about the differences that separate us, and how we react to them. Differences should not be seen as something negative. They should instead be the reasons that bring people together and not further apart.

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