Beyond Sight Exhibition
December 2007
"The most interesting photographic exhibition I have ever been to."
In December, the Association of Photographers Gallery in London hosted a multi-sensory exhibition of photographs by blind and visually impaired people, trained by PhotoVoice and the Mexican NGO Sight of Emotion.
Their images were exhibited alongside work by renowned blind and sighted photographers, including Gerardo Nigenda, Martin Parr and Evgen Bavcar.
Over 500 visitors came to explore and challenge conventional understanding of visual communication and to celebrate the possibilities of a medium traditionally regarded as the domain of the seeing.
‘It is obvious that a blind person cannot see, but to say that he cannot perceive, that is understand, discern, locate, feel, interiorise etc. and re-transcribe it, is as stupid and false as saying he can’t laugh, cry or eat. The fact is that he doesn’t see with his eyes but with his mind.’
Christian Lombardi, blind photographer
Through using audio descriptions and tactile relief images, the exhibition demonstrated that the loss of one sense need not be prohibitive to participation in photography either as an artist or a viewer.
"Inspiring and thought-provoking - I loved having my perceptions challenged."
Click here to read more about the project