More than Looking – exhibition by Glenn Heenan

11th Nov, 2009

Press Release (216 KB)

More than Looking

More Than Looking- is New Zealand’s first exhibition created for and about the vision-impaired.

Evocative and extremely beautiful these large format landscape images of a quintessential New Zealand are complemented by poetry by many leading New Zealand poets and writers including Keri Hulme. Each poem is specially commissioned by the artist Glenn Heenan for this exhibition and is embossed in Braille in the glass to accompany the images.

Extending beyond ordinary photographic shows this is an interactive and sensual experience for both visually impaired, partially sighted and all those who just want to explore the stunning images with added sensory appeal ! Each visitor is encouraged to touch the artworks and photographs and journey through the two concurrent collection and ‘Sweet As’ exhibitions in a wheelchair too! Embossed edges in the glass panels enable the visitor to feel the image and the Braille texts. This show provides access to audiences that might otherwise be omitted from the ‘viewing’ audience.

More Than Looking exhibition is part of the Disabilityart@ccess exhibition together with ‘Sweet As’ and has been designed for students to learn about and use Braille to enhance the experience of art for vision-impaired people along with other members of the community. The exhibition includes a collection of photographic art accompanied by poetry that is translated into Braille.

‘Stimulate your creative responses by taking a lateral journey through the 3 concurrent exhibitions and experience some fresh ways of experiencing and interpreting art’

Exhibition conceived and curated by Scott Pothan

To get to the exhibition we suggest you could access the museum from the Forum North carpark or from the back of the new library via Lovers Lane through Cafler Park - both of which give excellent wheelchair access to the Art Museum ramp at the entrance of the gallery.

Access to two-dimensional pictures has, until now, tended to have been limited to a sighted audience. MORE THAN LOOKING is Aotearoa’s first exhibition created for both a visually impaired and a sighted audience. Besides sight, we cannot experience a beautiful picture. More Than Looking encourages you to use your sense of touch to feel the embossed images and the accompanying poems in Braille. The artist Glenn Heenan creates a show, which enables him to share with a visually impaired audience, his joy of photography.

Credits: Concept & Photography by Glenn Heenan With original Poetry contributions from Glenn Colquhoun, Ruth Dallas, David Eggleton, Emma Farry, David Howard, Keri Hulme, Michele Leggot, Kay McKenzie-Cooke, Heather McCraken, Denys Trussell and Pat White.

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