Double Blind

Double Blind translates a Snellen, or eye, chart into braille by using dome mirrors to emulate the raised dots of braille script. The installation’s oxymoronic premise: those who can see the work likely don’t read braille, and those who read braille can probably not see the work.

Dome mirrors are endemic to public space that must typically answer to the idealist demands for communality while also satisfying the concerns for public safety frequently associated with control and surveillance. Like many public spaces, the Vancouver Community College’s atrium has a panoptic aspect: emphasizing “insight” into various interior spaces.

Double Blind is accompanied by a T-shirt multiple on which the Snellen chart is rendered either in reflective foil or monochromatically, but in raised, haptic print.

Double Blind was commissioned by the City of Vancouver for the atrium of Vancouver Community College’s Broadway Campus building.