Unseen Europe opens the door to possibilities

It’s an uncomfortable truth that of the many responses to our World Unseen exhibitions, the most prevalent is pure, often emotional, appreciation. We heard time and again from our blind and partially sighted visitors that even before they experienced photography in elevated print, listened to the audio descriptions or touched their fingertips to the braille they were just happy to have their needs considered. And after actually experiencing the images, they often expressed their hope that this kind of care and attention would become commonplace.

“It was the idea of being recognised,” says Filip Vandenbempt, Senior Manager for Corporate Communications and Marketing Services in Benelux, who oversaw the organisation of the Belgian edition of World Unseen. And in the city of Mechelen, near Antwerp, Canon Ambassador and Belgian celebrity, Lieve Blancquaert, was also thrilled that her We Are Europe (Wij zijn Europa) exhibition would be part of World Unseen’s journey across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The exhibition took place in Cultuurcentrum Mechelen, a respected hub of arts and culture, as part of a citywide festival called Construct Europe, which celebrated Belgium’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. As you might expect, the combination of so many intersecting factors made for an enormously successful event, with huge numbers of visitors through the doors during the twelve-day duration of the show.

One such visitor was Kenny Demulder, who lost his sight at the age of eight. For him, it was a rare opportunity to bring his own interpretation to an image. He explains; “Normally I depend on the descriptions by volunteers from Be My Eyes or Artificial Intelligence, but then I have an existing interpretation of reality. Here, I can feel the photos and it is up to me to form an image. It is a kind of freedom.”

Helping to bring Lieve’s stories of Europe to life were brailleliga (The Braille League) and Licht en Liefde, an organisation which works to improve the quality of life of blind and visually impaired people. Both are celebrating a century of supporting blind and partially sighted people across Belgium and were on hand to offer advice and support across the execution, curation and installation of the exhibition. Licht en Liefde’s technology was used to access the exhibition audio descriptions and brailleliga organised guided group visits for those visitors who wished for a more social experience.

Kunsthal Mechelen (Mechelen Art Gallery) was a perfect canvas for Lieve’s work, as well as being a minimalistic space that offered maximum room for the group visits, guide and assistance dogs, wheelchairs and other mobility aids. Seating was available to visitors who required it, as they fully immersed themselves in each photograph, enjoying each absorbing line of the print. Taking in details that wouldn’t have been available to them in other formats. “There is a picture of a pregnant woman, and the reactions were incredible,” recalls Filip. “Like, ‘wow, you can really feel her belly! It's not just raised lines, no, you can feel the way it goes out and down.’”

For Filip, who attended the exhibition every day and spent time with every blind or partially sighted visitor, this was just one of a huge number of special moments across the twelve days of the exhibition. “I think the result of making it accessible in different ways with elevated print, audio descriptions, braille and soundscapes meant that every visitor experienced it in their own way,” he says. “Most of the blind or partially sighted visitors stayed at the exhibition between two and three hours. Each detail takes time and builds up the picture. For example, a person sitting down in a quiet space told me, ‘Don’t worry, I'm really enjoying the exhibition. But after I touch the image, I need to sit and listen to the story, then I can connect the two in my mind.”

This feels like precisely the way that Lieve wants her project to be experienced. Each story she tells from across Europe comes in different parts – the images she captures, but also the beautiful words expressed in her book and audiobook. And, of course, the tv series and hour-long documentary, which was also shown at the exhibition. Each element pulses with life and to present the images via the medium of elevated print adds new depth and detail to these very personal tales of lives, loves, fears and hopes. To be able to feel the texture and shape of each one under your fingertips brings something new to We Are Europe – perhaps an even greater sense of connection.

But more; combining the exhibition with World Unseen adds a new tale of Europe in and of itself. Where technology can present itself in so many different and useful ways, and how we live in a time in human history where every day has the potential to create change for disabled people. Lieve shows us our collective hope. And World Unseen opens the door to possibility.

Find out more about Lieve Blancquaert’s We Are Europe (Wij zijn Europa) project and her search for unity across all the countries of the EU, and see photography as it may be experienced by people with sight loss at our World Unseen online exhibition.