Wandering Star – a photo essay
Photographer Vanessa Vettorello’s project Wandering Star explores the complex and often misunderstood condition of double vision, a subject rarely discussed openly.
Imagine a world where judging distance is a constant challenge and simple tasks, such as pouring water into a glass, demand intense focus. At a school volleyball game, you see the ball and run for it, but you are always a moment too late.
Diplopia means double vision. It is a medical term defined as seeing two images of a single object when looking at it. The most common cause of binocular double vision is eye muscle misalignment. Strabismus may be constant or intermittent. Typically, if strabismus begins in early childhood, double vision does not occur because children learn to suppress one of the images when the eyes are misaligned. This process is called suppression. In my case, even though it started very early, my vision was double and blurred, as depicted in the image I created.
Above left: Briciola, a cat with strabismus; this condition is common in certain breeds. Above right: Still life with a glass and depth of field (Turin, 2023).
"When I was little, my mom used to scold me all the time. I couldn’t pour milk correctly into my breakfast cup. We discovered late that I was suffering from strabismus" – Chiara (Turin, 2021).
At the age of three, I developed strabismus, a misalignment of the eyes or squint. Everything appeared doubled, a condition known as diplopia or double vision. Approximately 4% of the global population experiences this misalignment.
While young children often adapt by suppressing one image, older children and adults face significant mental strain in performing even the simplest tasks. Strabismus is a complex condition that remains largely misunderstood and seldom openly discussed.
At 12, I underwent successful surgery and fully regained binocular vision. For years, I suppressed the memory, acting as if it had never occurred. However, as an adult, I began to reflect. I asked myself: Was I poor at some sports due to my personality, or because of my eyes? Was my messiness at school a result of who I am, or my impaired vision? Had others experienced similar feelings?
Personal Stories and Experiences
Giulia, photographed in her bedroom, wears bifocals to correct accommodative strabismus. Although school has been difficult due to unkind classmates, she has learned to accept her glasses.
In a voice note, Giulia’s mom told me that one evening by their front door, Giulia looked up and asked: "Mom, what’s that in the sky?" "The moon," she replied. It was then her mother realised that, before getting her new glasses, her daughter had never actually been able to see it clearly.
Wandering Star investigates strabismus by examining the relationship between a physical condition and identity construction, and how this visual divergence influences the experience of seeing and being seen. The project blends reportage of real-life situations with reconstructed memories, integrating my personal story with those of others.
Above left: Vittoria in the hospital after her operation. In June 2022, her parents noticed her eye turning inward, a condition fully corrected by surgery in September 2023. Above right: the hands of the surgeon Prof Nucci and his assistant during Vittoria’s operation.
A family friend noticed that one of Vittoria’s eyes seemed to turn inward. From that moment, an intense journey of medical visits, emergency room visits, and eye exams began, culminating in a diagnosis of latent strabismus, likely triggered by a fever due to mononucleosis, a viral infection. Only after the diagnosis did Vittoria’s parents begin to reconstruct certain signs that, in hindsight, appeared clearer: reading difficulties at school, frequent rubbing of her eyes and forehead, falls, and difficulty looking at the camera when photos were taken.
Rather than seeking a definitive resolution, the project reflects on the social and psychological implications of a different gaze. The title refers to a symbol from a binocular vision test, a star that remains invisible to those lacking binocular vision.
Early Intervention and Acceptance
Ayda, aged 10, experienced accommodative strabismus, now resolved thanks to consistent use of glasses. Even when she removes them, the strabismus is no longer visible. Early eye exams diagnosed astigmatism combined with hyperopia (far-sightedness). Prompt intervention and regular use of glasses greatly reduced the issue, which may diminish further as she grows. For Ayda, glasses have never been a problem: her best friends wear them too, and she has never felt different. Instead, she values uniqueness as something positive.
The project aims to raise awareness of the subtle stigma and lack of understanding surrounding strabismus.
Top: A young patient at Studio Oculistico Paolo Nucci in Milan. Prof Nucci is an ophthalmologist and surgeon specializing in pediatric eye disorders. Above left: C, a photographer, cannot live without her contact lenses. She views her diplopia as a core element of her identity and fears losing it through surgery:
"It would be losing a piece of how I see the world, I wouldn’t have surgery today because I’m afraid of losing this thing here."Above right: C plays with her vision. One evening in Arles, she used her double vision to "move" a ring onto her hand without touching it.
I have spoken with many people, 20 of whom I interviewed in depth because their stories moved me. They include a filmmaker who transformed his vision loss from amblyopia (known as a “lazy eye”) into a creative strength, whose son also required an eye patch though early intervention saved his sight; a mother who described the moment her child saw the moon for the first time after receiving glasses at five years old; a woman who vividly remembers her surgery in the 1980s, which involved being blindfolded and unable to see for several days; and the contrasting experience of accompanying a family through a modern surgery in the operating room, witnessing how much has changed.
Wandering Star serves as a bridge between my past and future work. It is a reflection on the act of seeing and being seen.
Wandering Star is supported by the GFX Fujifilm Global Grant.
