Retinal burn’ or solar retinopathy (also known as eclipse retinopathy) refers to a photochemical injury to the macular tissue (central retina). It is commonly associated with sun gazing or eclipse viewing. A short duration of exposure, as little as a few seconds of fixation on the sun, can cause solar retinopathy.

Retinal Burning is an adaptation of Jesús Hilario-Reyes’ former work Akin to the Hurricane, which began in Spring 2018 following the events of Hurricane Maria. To interrogate the im/possible complex that exists within the hyper-visibility and invisibility of the Black body, Hilario-Reyes utilizes the Carnivalesque to take on a satirical approach to undermine said complex. Bubbling from a deep concern for the state of visibility regarding Black people within a global context, this work is a mediation of navigating absolutes, lightness, and darkness and proposing a ghosting towards or perpetual mobility to blurry embodiments.