Process and inspiration

What inspires me about my deafblind collaborator, Bent are Nielsen, is that he seems strong and grounded, happy and present. Even though he is considered legally blind, I constantly try to get an idea of how he still is able to see. During our collaboration I have not only tried to learn how a deafblind person gather information from the external environment, but also about the relationship between our brain and senses.

Most individuals who are deafblind are not completely deaf and completely blind. From what I have learned, there is a lack of understanding and awareness in the community of what deafblindness actually means. Through our senses we make new meanings of our environment, of ourselves, and people around us. With what kind of tools may we define that process of creating meaning?

Even though Bent are Nilsen is a man of relatively few words, he has this indescribable charisma that tells me a lot about him. I believe that his contentment has a lot to do with the fact that he is not alone. He lives with his dear partner, whom understands him, since she has similar abilities, and whenever he leaves the house, his dog or his assistant accompanies him. He seemed to have a strong relationship with his assistant.

I was thinking of using a material related to something in his past and to combine it with something from his present. To work in the industry with finger-sized pieces made him relax in the past, and it was a form of socializing as well. From what I learned during our material workshops the size and organization of things really made sense to his appreciation and understanding of things.

According to my collaborator, the understanding of an object or a surface is easy if it has got one type of tactile surface or material and one repetitive shape, consistence and temperature. However, if the object or surface has got two sides, he would find it interesting if they contrasted each other.

I started to think of organizing and structuring things, looking into some sources of inspiration. I started experimenting with different shapes that were abstract and representative of something bigger, in a sensory way. For example the shape of a seashell, that has an incredibly beautiful balance and contrast between the surface and smell of its outside and the gentle sound of wind and waves coming from its inside.

Working with objects and a surface with complementary sensory differences became my mission.