This photograph was created as part of a workshop run by Ojos Que Sienten (Sight of Emotion). Ojos Que Sienten exists to change perceptions about visually-impaired people. Its founder, photographer Gina Badenach, understood that photography could be used as a way for those with visual impairment to be seen and heard. In this way, photographers also connect with their sighted public.
A tactile print accompanied the display and was made in Madrid by a company called Factum Arte that specialises in making 2D and 3D facsimiles of artwork. The production of this print involved a complex series of steps that included coating plaster with a thin layer of gelatin to make a photographic print on its surface. Visitors were urged to experience the tactile print in advance of raising a flap to reveal both the tactile print and the photograph it was based on.
Barrera Pérez lives and works in Mexico City. She describes her experience of taking part in Ojos Que Sienten workshops as a ‘watershed in my life’. Her work features in the book The Blind Photographer, published by Redstone Press.
This photograph and tactile print featured as part of the Touchstone programme (2012-2020). Each display consisted of a single photographic work on the Eranda studio floor where visitors were invited to respond to the question 'What do you see?' using the cards and pencils provided. A bench was placed in front of the work, encouraging people to spend a little longer than they might usually. The programme was part of a wider series of projects and activities related to visual literacy.
A selection of audience responses to the question 'What do you see?'
Installation images of Untitled (Mexico) and its accompanying tactile print © Kate Elliott
