Momentarium : : by Markuz Wernli Saitô

Tactile Island: Blind with a Voice.

If you have normal vision and can read, there are thousands of things you do every day without even thinking even about it, little problems you solve with just a glance — like knowing which button to press.

PROJECT ARCHIVE
Blind with a voice
Report (PDF 2.3MB)
Coin action (PDF)

White Cane

Alessandro gets a feel for the challenges with white cane and Tactile flooring

The topics of the conversations with blind individuals that I realized with Kalna Katsuom and Alessandro Mavilio included the way of dreaming, meaning of colors, sensibility for movements and speed, recognizing people, and the use of media, among others. And the first thing we learnt was that each individual experience of visual impairment is different and personal. So when you read the transcripts of the conversations below please keep this in mind.

We were interested in embracing otherness through dialog. Ordinarily the blind adjust to the world of the seeing, but what would happen if the opposite were true? What if we were to learn more about the subtle culture and language of visually impaired? Explore for yourself in the following conversations:

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A Conversation in the Kyoto Lighthouse with Taro Yamamoto (supervisor) and Mr. Ikuo, Mr. Tokuoka, Mrs. Yoshitake, Mrs. Murai, Mrs. Naka and Mrs. Nishizawa on June 8, 2006. By Kalna Katsuom and Markuz Wernli Saitô.

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A Conversation with Hidemi Saimoto, aka Sai-chan, singer and song writer (formerly an illustrator) from Wakayama. May 20, 2006 at BBA Club in Kyoto. By Alessandro Mavilio and Markuz Wernli Saitô.

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A Conversation with Hiroki Kubo, a very tech-savvy musician, composer, teacher and writer based in Nagoya. July 7, 2006 in Kyoto. By Yuka and Markuz Wernli Saitô.

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A Conversation with the couple Yoko and Masatada Matsuno, holder of a seeing-eye dog named Peggie. June 10, 2006 in Terada, Uchi. By Kalna Katsuom and Markuz Wernli Saitô.

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A Conversation with Hiroshi Yorishita, graduate student and guitar player from Kyoto. May 20, 2006 at Gaidat University in Kyoto. By Kalna Katsuom, Alessandro Mavilio and Markuz Wernli Saitô.

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A Conversation with Yuki Jin, graduate student of foreign studies at Gaidai University in Kyoto. May 27, 2006 at Gaidai University in Kyoto. By Alessandro Mavilio and Markuz Wernli Saitô.

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Each moment of the everyday, every action of living, poses the question: how it might be lived differently, more truthfully and respectfully. Through conscious interventions Momentarium provides a forum of inquiry on human coexistence.