Look the other way – the future of accessible aesthetics
From next-generation QR codes to elevated print photography; AI drawing tools to enhanced audio descriptions – Selena Schleh examines how advances in technology are empowering the blind and visually impaired community to create – as well as appreciate – art.
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Take a good look at the image below. Titled Rhino Wars and shot by South African photojournalist Brent Stirton, it captures the last male northern white rhino on earth.
Bathed in the golden glow of the savanna and ringed by conservation rangers who form a human shield around its massive form, the rhino gazes nobly into the distance, dehorned yet, somehow, still dignified. A poignant narrative captured within a single, static image: a testament to the power of photography.
South African photojournalist Brent Stirton’s heart-breaking image of the last male northern white rhino on earth.
You might think you need to ‘see’ this photograph in the most literal sense to experience it, that this type of visual art is off-limits to blind people – but an innovative exhibition that opened last month at London's Somerset House proves otherwise. Elevated printing lets you run your fingers over the surface of the image, tracing the folds and wrinkles of the rhino’s leathery skin, and following the majestic contours of its body.
Overhead, through a specialist speaker, Stirton describes the image’s composition and context, building layer upon layer of detail through words, while an immersive soundscape and accompanying braille descriptions help to conjure a vivid mental picture.
We believe in the power of imaging to transform the world.
Welcome to the future: where technology is turning art into multisensory experiences that are genuinely inclusive - whether you’re blind, partially or fully sighted. Rhino Wars is one of the many astounding photographs in Canon’s recent World Unseen exhibition, created in partnership with the RNIB, which aims to spark important conversations around accessibility for arts and culture.
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Love: Aleksander Nordahl’s incredible photograph of the bond between a beluga whale and the man who saved him, near Hammerfest in northern Norway.
Featuring a series of images by world-renowned photographers (many of them Canon ambassadors), accompanied by elevated prints, audio descriptions, soundscapes and braille, the exhibition was designed to recognise that though everyone ‘sees’ differently, the ability to appreciate art should be universal. “We believe in the power of imaging to transform the world, but for the 2.2 billion people globally who have a near or distance vision impairment, imagery is often inaccessible,” explains Pete Morris, Canon’s Brand and Sponsorship Senior Manager. “With World Unseen, we wanted everyone to be able to experience imagery in a new way.”
One of the biggest gaps is delivering tactile experiences that benefit not just blind and partially sighted people – but everyone.
Key to delivering that vision was acknowledging the different ways that people ‘see’ – and reflecting that with elements that tap into senses other than sight and sound. As Dave Williams, Inclusive Design Ambassador for the RNIB, points out, many of the efforts around inclusivity in the arts world are focused on audio description; in World Unseen, for example, the photographers’ audio commentary on the exhibits was delivered via parabolic directional dome sound showers: high-tech speakers funnelling audio to the location directly below the device, so visitors could hear the descriptions of the photographs more clearly.
Acropora by Dr. Jamie Craggs, shows the moment coral reproduces under water, shot in a laboratory in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Though braille offers accessibility through touch to the visually impaired community, “one of the biggest gaps,” says Williams, “is delivering tactile experiences that benefit not just blind and partially sighted people – but everyone.”
Which is where Canon’s elevated printing technology comes in. It’s a two-step process whereby software identifies which elements of the image should have a tactile nature – the skin of a rhinoceros, or strands of human hair, for example – and which should have elevation to create the desired definition, pixel by pixel. Then, a specialist printer creates a textured surface of the replica by ‘stacking’ multiple layers of UV ink on top of each other.
Not limited to photographs, the tech has also been used to create tactile replicas of some of the world’s most famous paintings, from Rembrandt’s Portrait of an Elderly Man to The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is currently on display at the Mauritshuis in the Netherlands. Being able to physically touch the layers of paint, the imprints of the brushstrokes and the hairline cracks – rather than simply gaze at the original ensconced behind glass – elevates art appreciation for everyone, not only the visually impaired. “Touch is such a fundamental part of being human, whether it’s holding a warm coffee or touching some ancient stone,” agrees Williams. “Many of us grew up being told: ‘don’t touch’. I would like us to think about a world where exhibitions positively encourage more rich tactile experiences that are powerful for everyone.”
Imagine the Future is Watching You: Heidi Rondak's AI-generated image envisions the world of tomorrow.
Accessibility applies not just to the artworks themselves, but the spaces in which they are
housed, and it’s here that navigation technology is quietly coming into its own – turning the
omnipresent mobile phones in people’s hands into reactive personal guides. At World
Unseen, visitors scanned NaviLens, a next-gen QR code which delivers audio instructions
directly to a smartphone, to get around the venue; while the V&A Dundee in Scotland
recently trialled MyEyes, an app which creates 'blind compliant zones' both indoors and
outdoors – areas where a user’s mobile phone will ‘talk’ to them when it encounters a GPS
co-ordinate or information beacon.
As well as enabling visually impaired people to appreciate art, technology is empowering the community to make it, too. One of the most striking images of World Unseen is a portrait of a model, with elaborate hair and couture clothes, who on first glance wouldn’t look out of place on the pages of Vogue – but a closer look reveals strange, mossy protuberances, intertwined with two eye-shaped cameras sprouting like vines from either side of her head, gazing disconcertingly at the viewer.
Camera-replacement eyes remain the stuff of sci-fi (for now), but AI already offers a multitude of ways for blind and partially sighted artists to express themselves visually.
Aptly titled Imagine the Future is Watching You, it’s Heidi Rondak’s answer to the brief “create an image that represented a diverse and inclusive future, celebrating technology and the natural world coming together.” Rondak, a fashion photographer, has been a devotee of AI since its inception, and has even created her own roster of unique digital models, who she ‘manages’ and casts in different scenarios and fashion series. Although not visually impaired herself, Rondak explains that her image nods to a future in which cameras might well be worn as accessories or physically attached to the body to compensate for limited sight.
On social media, I can share my photography, be vulnerable, share my story and hopefully inspire other people to be creative.
Camera-replacement eyes remain the stuff of sci-fi (for now), but artificial intelligence already offers a multitude of ways for blind and partially sighted artists to express themselves visually. Though traditional image-makers may mutter darkly about how AI is devaluing the craft, there’s no doubt innovations like generative adversarial networks (GANs) or AI-powered drawing tools have radically enhanced the creative process for the visually impaired community.
The former involves training two elements – a generator to create artwork and a discriminator to evaluate its quality – to produce unique artworks, while the latter can convert speech into digital artworks, allowing users to bring their creative visions to life simply by describing them out loud; some of these also offer haptic feedback and audio cues to help artists refine and guide the creative process in real-time. “It’s not the first time that new technology [is changing] the way we create images,” Rondak points out. “If we don’t adopt it and make the best out of it, we won’t have any influence on its development and usage at all.”
For more traditional artists like Ian Treherne, aka The Blind Photographer, who captured a black-and-white portrait of disability model Olivia Dean for World Unseen – technology is less of a creative enabler, more of a social connector. Deaf and 95 per cent blind due to the genetic degenerative condition Usher Syndrome, Treherne – who is also colourblind - utilises a tiny pinhole of 5 per cent sight in the middle of his eyes for his photography practice.
Future: Blind photographer Ian Treherne’s arresting black-and-white portrait of disability model Olivia Deane.
He eschews innovation in terms of the latest kit and lighting – “I’ve learnt that less is more - too much equipment hindered and distracted me from focusing on the subject” – but says technology has been transformative in terms of connecting and discovering likeminded people, creating a network that inspires him. It’s also helped him change societal perspectives around blindness and photography (“they don’t really go together, do they?”). “Today we [photographers] have such a huge opportunity to showcase our work on social media platforms. On social media, I can share my photography, be vulnerable, share my story and hopefully inspire other people to be creative.”
It’s important to note, however, that however advanced image making technology becomes, it works alongside and is complementary to human creativity. In the case of elevated printing, says Williams, translating a photograph into the tactile domain requires a more complex thought process than the software alone is capable of: “As we know from the development of braille itself, simply raising all print elements does not automatically make content fully accessible. Careful decisions have to be made about what can be perceived by touch and will make sense under human fingertips.”
Courage, enthusiasm, passion and determination comes from a human element.
AI, meanwhile, has already shown to be vulnerable to perpetuating stereotypes, which is why it’s vital that developers consult with the blind and partially sighted community to ensure that their unique perspectives, experiences and emotions are reflected in the images generated by AI. Ultimately, “[the] ease of technology has been a wonderful, powerful tool, but the groundwork of creativity stems from within. Courage, enthusiasm, passion and determination comes from a human element,” concludes Treherne.
