The Blind
Overview
Many novels are often adapted into films or operate as the conceptual framework for the production of artistic works. Could a novel, whose content is intrinsically linked to its architectural structure, as it were, (permeated by the presence of on-ground, underground and mental labyrinths, networks, memories, inter-textual references) trigger the creative process of an architect-researcher and two photographers to visually depict it in a non-descriptive manner?
This trans-disciplinary project is based on a reading of the award-winning novel “The Blind” written by Nikos Mantis and published in 2017 (Kastaniotis, Athens; untranslated in English for the time being). It is inspired by one central question: when and how do we become aware of the state of things? In that light, it is designed to highlight aspects of the cognitive adventures in which we find ourselves while seeking for understanding of the world and for knowledge regardless of the setting. For this purpose an architectural abstract structure simulating the ‘brainscape’ will be constructed, following the ceaseless play between darkness and light, the obvious and the oblique. The photographic works produced will be incorporated in the structure inspired by specific incidents, roles or details of the story plot taking place in Athens.