SOUND OF READING. BRAILLE

Vernissage – Sound of Reading

How does a text sound when it is read with the fingertips? Is tactility a physical sensation or is it a sensual mental experience that we can “grasp”? What conclusions can be drawn about the content from the fingers' eloquence? The installation is a visual and auditory experience that introduces viewers to the tactile Braille writing system.

The room-filling video work follows in close-up the decoding of embossed Braille dots with the fingertips, supported by the recording of the sounds produced in the process. The act of reading develops a special acoustic appeal through the sound of the book being opened, the tapping of pages, the turning of pages, and the return to the beginning of the line.

The installation counters visual overstimulation, offering space to linger, listen contemplatively, relax, and reflect on questions of perception—a tribute to the tactile writing system. 

The binary Braille writing system is a fundamental component of “blind” culture and has brought education and participation to blind people worldwide. Our democracy enables us to create a just and diverse society together. 

Ensuring that documents are accessible to people with visual impairments has been regulated since 2018 in the Ordinance on Accessible Documents in the Federal Administration (VBD) 2018, specifically in § 10 of the Disability Equality Act.

SOUND OF READING follows an extensive exhibition on the subject of Braille entitled “A Touch of Type.”

The DIALOGMUSEUM team is extremely diverse—around 50% of its members are visually impaired or blind, and a culture of “by everyone, for everyone” is part of everyday life. Braille is part of this culture. With its projects the DIALOGMUSEUM does important work for democracy. 

The Gutenberg Designlab Institute has many years of experience in the topics of typography, font design, and design history, and has been collaborating with the DIALOGMUSEUM for 20 years.

DIALOGMUSEUM Frankfurt; Leiterin Maureen Ekizoglu, Institut Designlabor Gutenberg / Hochschule Mainz; Isabel Naegele & Stephanie Kaplan, Dialog im Dunkeln, Verein zur Förderung der Sozialen Kreativität Frankfurt e.V.; Klara Kletzka, Meso Digital Interiors; Max Wolf