A review by sarahmatthews
Blind Spot: Exploring and Educating on Blindness by Maud Rowell

medium-paced
Blind Spot: Exploring and Educating on Blindness by Maud Rowell

Read in Braille

404 Inklings

Pub. 2021, 106pp

___


This is probably the most enjoyable of all the disability related non-fiction I’ve red to date, just so full of relatable insights and thought-provoking discussion. I wrote so many notes!
It’s structured as 3 essays; the first called On Visibility (how the work of blind people is routinely undervalued and ignored), the second On Accessibility (how we improve life for all pwhen we design the world accessibly) and the third On Culture. My main focus at the moment is trying to explore how I can develop some kind of tactile art practice since losing my sight, so the highlight for me was the final essay where Maud Rowell talks about her own connection to art galleries and the meagre offering by major galleries and museums in the UK for blind and partially sighted visitors. I was very interested to read, for example, that in the 18th century, museum visitors expected to be able to handle the exhibits:
“This all changed with the rapid emergence of a middle class with wealth to protect, and so touch became linked with anxieties over theft or damage. Prudish Victorian sensibilities, exacerbated by fresh paranoia over invisible diseases, further vilified tactile encounters with art and artefacts by the uncivilised, unsanitary masses.”
This puts a very different spin on the events I’ve felt very lucky to attend over the years which are specifically designed for blind people, and often put a huge emphasis on touching sculpture with gloves on. As she continues:
“Across all UK museums and galleries, accessibility measures for the blind only ever facilitate engagement with a small fraction of the exhibits on display, a fraction of the time, with specially-designed tours (sometimes involving permissive handling) available only within small and specific windows.This significantly limits free and spontaneous explorations by visitors with sight loss.
This seems especially unjustifiable when the permanent collections of the UK’s metropolitan galleries and museums are free, protected by an almost sacred, untouchable subsidy that creates the illusion that art is accessible to everyone, without discriminating. The fact is that in reality ,the ability to walk into one of these spaces and freely explore any and all the exhibits as the master of your own time, pleasure, and cultural education is a privilege, and one that is not afforded to everyone in equal measure.” So very true!
This essay also talks about blind artists including a piece called Modes of Touch by Fayen d'Evie that I was blown away by when I experienced it at the In Plain Sight exhibition at The Wellcome Collection in 2022. It involved opening drawers in an old piece of furniture to discover 3 objects wrapped in cloth. The gallery assistant had a script written by the artist which was read aloud to talk you through ideas of how to interact with the objects and really focus on touch. It’s very much commenting on how exhibits are so often hidden in cabinets or behind glass.
The essay on accessibility has a section on how wonderfully thought out the train system is in Japan, with specially commissioned audio tracks for each line and I want to travel there even more now!
One more great quote to finish: “So while sight loss will always be an adjustment, it should never mean a severing from your sense of self, or from happiness - and we shouldn’t think it does, either. No one should have to feel that should they go blind, they must sacrifice their dreams or independence. We must fight the pervasive ignorance which feeds this mindset, and which continues to relegate blind history, blind accomplishments, and the realities of sight loss to the shadows.”
I think that at just over 100 pages this book effectively and eloquently introduces the barriers faced by blind and partially sighted people and I found I was very engaged with it throughout. Plus there’s a great afterward with suggested further reading. I’ll be telling everyone who’ll listen how good this one is for a long time!