...what happens in the mind of absolute blind people, who where born with the condition. Their mind is a world in which imagination has a whole different meaning. Understanding of the world goes beyond what we can see.
I decided to feed my curiosity and set out to try and translate what happens in the mind of blind people. I entered a deep research process, into a world where I’m a complete outsider. I took time to understand the limitations between language and its relation with visual reality - and came confronted with what so many of us take for granted (vision), over and over. In speaking with blind people, you soon realise they have different references when encountering and interacting with the world, references that people who can see, or have seen at some point in their lives, can’t understand or share.
During my initial research, I met eight blind people in Santiago de Chile. I sat with them. We shared stories, thoughts and dove into interpretations of the world. It was a diverse group of people, of which three have been blind their whole life, the rest became blind as a result of different events duringtheir lives.
On my way to the meetings with blind people, I kept realising that these were creative encounters where I could not show my portfolio, not on a screen, nor paper. It was all about speech. Communication with words, tone of voice, touch. Sharing intentions and building trust were the basis of this project.
the world we see
the world they see
Many of us, when we think of people with visual impediment, believe they can see dark, light, or shapes, or some kind of images. This is a big misunderstanding. Because blind people don't have the same references we do. They do not have the same idea of dark as we do. They do not know light the way we know it. They do not relate to these concepts in the same way people.
I soon understood that it is a responsibility to take on this project and make it a reality. Delving into the stories of their daily lives, I learned how important it is for those of us who can see, make an effort to meet their world, to understand them, connect with them and include them.
From a personal point of view, this journey has opened many challenges on which way to approach the research, the process of developing these images, and my relationship with this new world.
This project is a long term project in which I aim to describe the world of different born blind people, from different nationalities, from different countries, from different environments. I intend to keep exhibiting at various small spaces across Europe. Eventually, it I aim to publish a printed photo book. with blind reading printing technologies.
I would be very grateful If you can support this project, by either introducing me to some blind people, or following my work.