The Blind Mind Exhibit: A Journey with Aphantasia

Due to unforeseen family circumstances, I was absent from home for over a month, during which I made several day trips to my hometown to install my artwork and attend the receptions for “The Blind Mind,” my art exhibit at The Armory Arts and Event Center Gallery in Park Rapids, Minnesota. (Video from my talk below.)

I am pleased to announce that the exhibition has been extended to run through the third week of October. I encourage you to visit and view the works I created during the past few months.

The exhibit presents a new body of work based on my artistic process with aphantasia. Throughout the project, I created several live (unedited) videos, posted them on YouTube, and shared them on my Facebook Art page. Additionally, I produced 30 new works with the objective of raising awareness among individuals who work with students or employ visualization techniques in their work to address this condition.

For those unfamiliar with aphantasia, it is the inability to generate visual images in the brain. Often referred to as image-free thinking, approximately 3-4% of the population, including myself, cannot recall memory images, create new images, or visualize objects in the brain.

I first became aware of aphantasia in 2019 through an article published in The New York Times. Initially dismissive, I revisited the topic in 2020, a pivotal year in global events. For me, aphantasia presented an additional layer of complexity, but I did not address it until several years later. This led me to write and submit a grant to the Minnesota State Arts Board for a Creative Individuals Grant. My grant was awarded, enabling me to embark on a series of artworks with two primary objectives: raising awareness and delving deeper into my creative process.

The exhibit has exceeded my expectations in meeting both goals and fostering meaningful conversations and interest.

The accompanying images depict two of the ten tool diptychs exhibited in the exhibition. The left panels of each diptych represent the original paintings I created without relying on a photograph, physical object, or mental image reference. Upon completion, I captured photographs of the paintings and had prints of the same dimensions produced. Subsequently, I retrieved the objects and drew upon the prints, making observations about the object’s appearance and comparing it to my recollections.

In addition to the tool diptychs, I created “apparition” paintings. Initially, I intended to create both “apparition” and “memory” paintings for the exhibition. However, as I was working on “The Three Maidens,” the two concepts began to intertwine and transform into works where I discovered that through painting, long-forgotten memories resurfaced. This was because the shapes I was creating evoked the rocks that were part of the National Monument in Pipestone, Minnesota, where I grew up.

The video below provides a detailed account of my creative process and includes follow-up questions from the audience present that day.

I have also submitted my artwork to other venues, and it will be displayed at the Kaddatz Gallery in Fergus Falls from March 17 to April 25, 2026.

Dawn Rossbach is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

For more information about Aphantasia and other Brain research a great place to start is right here: https://aphantasia.com/