Touchstone test-piece

Aims and Objectives

Exploratory research with a blind person rock climbing. Developing new spatial narrative using technology, performative and studio based processes and methodologies

For more details please go to the project summary document

Progress and Highlights

The research developed innovative video techniques and presents artworks where "finger tip" video documentation of blind climbing visualizes a tactile relationship between the body and it's environment. Alongise this it also used more usual video modes to document wider contextual research concerns.

The project explored the assumption that a blind person's spacialised experience might present extra in terms of a greater tactile experience and concludes that it fails to hold strong value.

As the project progressed the aims changed as it was realized that the original aims about the cameras “forming” the landscape through John's searching physical climbing activity alone didn't reflect the whole experience picture.

‘…early on in the project, as the whole activity became more personalized and human, I realized that this was too narrow an approach which treated John almost as if he was a paint brush. We realized was that the landscape was as much about how John and I interacted (and his friend Gerard and guide dog Voss), and what our activity was in these places as much as it was about the ‘finger-tip' footage.'

To reflect this, other methodologies also shifted and wider contextual material started to be included. It also led to an ethical shift which concerned whether or not to give guiding information to John as he climbed - because until then guiding communication during the climbing had generally not been allowed - with the problematical aim of keeping John's climbing experience “pure”. This shift allowed them to explore and include the wider scope or reality of the project – including how they negotiated logistical and conceptual issues and the fun, social and problematic aspects.

These issues seem to chart underlying and wider debates around art and landscape such as; What is landscape?, How does it relate to actual experience? and Whose landscape is it?

The project aims to develop new ways of thinking about landscape based on the experiential. It seeks to develop methodologies based around complex and engaged processes and find ways to present different aspects of landscape or spatial narratives.

A single screen video artwork entitled 'A Guiding Dilemma' has been produced by Dan. The title refers to the dilemma of whether to assist him in climbing by communicating and calling out where holds are or whether to leave John to seek the holds himself. Also, a multi screen video installation entitled 'Echo Valley' achieves a unique embodies experential landscape narrative where framing of landscape is established by actions not predicted on what is looks like but on the climbing actions of a blind person's body. This relationship to the physical landscape forms the structure of the videos and installation.

Both of these films were on view in an exhibition at the VOID Gallery in Derry from 20 May to 20 June 2008. For further information see the VOID Gallery website and have a look at a review. The project has also been shown in part in a show called Embedded (July / Aug 08) at the Gimpel Fils Gallery in London and in part in the Hillsborough RAW Outdoor Adventure and Mountain Film festival. (2007)