Beauty through the mind’s eye

A photography exhibition featuring works by visually challenged people offers a glimpse of the world through their senses

The very idea of ‘blind photography’ sounds a little impossible and absurd. But a group of visually challenged people recently showcased a collection of fascinating pictures representing the world through their senses in the capital.

In the run-up to World Disability Day, Sightsavers, a development organisation that works to prevent avoidable blindness, teamed up with Beyond Sight Foundation to showcase photographs clicked by visually impaired people who rely on sound, texture, intuition and other senses to become visual artists. The two-day exhibition titled “#TheBlindView” featured works by six visually impaired photography enthusiasts.

Many of the photographs on display documented the lives of visually impaired people and speak of how they go about leading their lives — whether it is travelling, earning a living or pursuing a hobby. Partho Bhowmick, founder of the Beyond Sight Foundation, stated, “The photos were displayed with a detailed caption in braille, an audio guide and a tactile print of the photo. The idea was to offer an insight into how visually impaired people can see though their mind and their heightened sense of sensory perception.”

Partho, who has been conducting workshops across cities, has trained the photographers participating in this exhibition too.

“#TheBlindView aims to bring a positive transformation in the viewers’ perception about blindness. It showcases photographs taken by, and of, people with visual impairment.” pointed out Partho. Adding further, R.N. Mohanty, CEO, Sightsavers (India) said, “This initiative is our effort to showcase the glimpses of the life of a blind person — how they perform their daily chores, how do they use assistive technology to their advantage at the office and so on.”

On display were about 30 photographs portraying a unique story in itself by representing different aspects of the blind experience. Partho stated, “It is a great initiative which not only showcases the work and talent of the visually impaired, but also gives a chance to the general public to appreciate the beauty pictured by them in their photographs.”

Talking about the artists, Partho said, “The photography workshop took place earlier this year and the participants were trained to click perfect pictures under skilled supervision.”

Elaborating on how a visually impaired person clicks a photograph, Patho said, “I have always seen that these people want to experience the ‘processes’ of creation more than expecting the end result. We also teach them the printing process. We try to challenge realisations and motivate social change.”

Partho believes that disability is a diverse human condition, and the blind are simply differently-abled. He added, “These photographers have proved an interesting way for conceiving and living life beyond sight with a motto — art ‘by’ all and ‘for’ all.”

Going forward, Partho wants to focus on encouraging people to use senses as a medium of photography. He concluded, “Would like more people with vision to experience the world’s beauty through closed eyes and capture its imperfection in a perfect frame.”