NOTES ON BLINDNESS: INTO DARKNESS
VR Project by Kaleidoscope (with art direction from Béatrice Lartigue) visualizes the audio diary of a man who became blind, an adaptation of the book ‘Touching The Rock’ by John M. Hull:
Some notes from Béatrice about the project in relation to VR:
The first thing I done was to read the book of John M. Hull, to understand his experience and discover his daily environment. What struck me first was the contrast between the simplicity of his writing and the strength of his words. There were also tackled issues of a man living with his family and a man exploring the meaning of life: it was like John was at the same time inside and outside his own body.
In virtual reality, the world around the viewer is concentric; all vanishing points refer to the viewer’s position. And it’s even more true when your perceptions of this world bring it to life.
John knows his daily environment (his study, his house…) but he feels his unknown surroundings to understand it. His senses and perceptions help him to figure out what the space looks like around him: the wind in his hair, the sun on is skin. The sound gives tangible form to his environment.
The point of view and the environment are voluntary realistic, but the visual translation of John’s world is more abstract. My first concern was to translate the idea of ‘an intermittent & fragmented world’.
You can read more background about the project here
