Artist of the Month: Booker T Photography
- cerys35
- Jan 12
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 14
Artist of the Month is a feature where we put the spotlight on the incredible work of one of our members.
Our Artist of the Month for January is Booker T Photography!
✨ What inspired you to start 3D printing artwork?
I was inspired to start 3D printing artwork because I wanted to make photographs and visual art accessible to people who cannot rely on sight alone. After caring for my grandfather and my mother with Alzheimer’s, I saw how traditional photographs become inaccessible when someone can no longer process visual information. That experience, combined with my work as a photographer, pushed me to explore how images could be felt rather than seen.
Over three years of research and development, I realised that 3D printing could transform a flat photograph into a tactile relief — a way for people with dementia, visual impairment, or other disabilities to reconnect with memories through touch. The desire to unlock memories, create inclusion, and offer dignity through art is what sparked the project 'Sensory Seeing'.
🔧 What has your experience been of making this work?
Creating this work has been a mix of technical challenge (with AI recently making the creation more affordable), emotional depth, and genuine discovery. Developing a process that accurately translates a 2D image into a meaningful tactile form required extensive experimentation with materials, depth mapping, and sustainable filaments.
Working directly with visually impaired individuals, people with dementia, carers, and arts organisations has shaped the work at every stage. Their feedback has been essential — helping me refine the tactile clarity, emotional resonance, and accessibility of each piece.
The experience has been profoundly rewarding. I’ve seen people light up when they recognise a shape through touch, or when a memory resurfaces that had seemed lost. Those moments confirm why this work matters.
🎨 How did you get started with your arts practice?
My arts practice began with photography — using the lens to document and process profound life events. As a neurodivergent, Welsh-speaking disabled artist, photography became a way to express emotions, navigate adversity, and share my inner world with others.
Over time, my practice evolved from traditional photography into innovation-led, inclusive artmaking. My lived experience as a carer and as a disabled artist shaped my understanding of accessibility, and that naturally led me toward exploring tactile, multi-sensory forms of expression.
This journey eventually grew into Sensory Seeing: a fusion of photography, digital design, and 3D printing that reflects both my creative roots and my commitment to inclusion.
🌿 What inspires your artwork?
My artwork is inspired by memory, accessibility, and the belief that everyone deserves the right to experience art. I’m driven by the emotional power of photographs — how they hold stories, identities, and connections — and by the challenge of making those stories available to people who cannot access visual imagery.
I’m also inspired by the communities I work with: visually impaired artists, people living with dementia, disabilities, autism, carers, museums, and cultural organisations striving for inclusion. Their experiences shape the direction of my work.
Nature, texture, and multi-sensory engagement also influence my practice. I use sustainable filaments and tactile forms to create pieces that can be felt, heard, and seen, offering a richer, more inclusive way of experiencing art.
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