Dialogue in the Dark

Last Thursday I enjoyed the sweet smell of foliage in a plaza, crossed a river, walked along a street in the neighbourhood of Once, took a boat ride, and ordered a coffee—all in complete darkness.

I was in ‘Diálogo en la oscuridad‘ an exhibition spanning more than 6,000 square feet of the Ciudad Cultural Konex, in which small groups are led through different scenes and examine the sounds, textures and aromas of every day life – all without the use of their eyes.

Argentina is the latest stop of “Dialogue in the Dark”, the English name of the exhibition that has travelled to more than 110 cities around the world since 1988. The idea was dreamed up in Germany by Andreas Heinecke, who wanted to increase awareness of visual handicaps by creating an environment that provokes strong emotions and inspires a transformation.

And a transformation it was. Upon arrival, we were given white walking sticks, and led through a passageway into the pitch black. We exchanged our site for a blind guide, who helped us make sense of the worlds we entered with his voice and instructions. He was a calming leader who instantly learned our names and could distinguish us from one another by sound and touch. I found out later had been one of 20 chosen from hundreds of blind people that applied for the position. He walked expertly through the different scenes, and we shuffled along, clung to one another, vigorously tapped our sticks, and held out our hands in the direction of his voice.

After a few minutes of fear and dizziness, my imagination kicked in as if I were in the middle of a great novel. The scenery gained colour, perspective and shape, but that didn’t stop me from bumping into objects, touching my fellow visitors awkwardly, and developing an almost familial bond with our guide’s voice and presence. He was my only ticket to surviving (and escaping) this invisible world.

As the name of the exhibition suggests, there is actually a dialogue in the dark. At the end of the tour we fumbled around to find a seat on couches and began to discuss the experience with our guide. It was one of those rare opportunities when you can be honest, and endlessly curious, among total strangers.

Bruno Lehmann, a producer of the exhibition, explains that the experience “strengthens our other senses and, from there, helps us become conscious of values like fairness, equality, and antidiscrimination.”

When we came back into the light we “met” our guide, and I couldn’t believe my eyes: he was nothing like what I had imagined. He looked young, petit, and … well, blind. I suddenly realised that the previous hour I had been getting to know the real him, on his turf.

This sighted encounter did nothing to strengthen that relationship because he was not taking part in the illumination we received. In the dark, he was the one who could “see” and in the light our roles were uncomfortably reversed.

Dialogue in the Dark offers us an opportunity to better understand the immense privilege of sight, and the immense skill of those who navigate the world without it.