A Romantic Notion Of Blindnes
2014
HD Video 10.00 min.
Director Steinbock
Cinematographer Steinbock and Morten Lundrup
Editor Frederikke Friderichsen
Cast Nina Schneidermann, Osman Sari and Methap Demirkaya.

The mobile diptych consisting of a dual-channel video projection gives a voice to three blind individuals, who present themselves to the camera. Through song and narrative, they convey sensual, erotic preferences – considerations about gender representations and the mere experience of not being able to see when you open your eyes. The challenge of eating a sandwich as a blind person becomes a lyrical documentation of an everyday situation marked by both loneliness and decisiveness. The young man's narration of being attracted to the scent of hair and soft body contours is countered by a woman in a red dress contemplating femininity. Not that she cares whether her thoughts are obvious to others. The more we see, the more the eye is guided away from the visual field into the world of senses related to kinesthetics and tactility. As is so often seen in Steinbock's works, cinematographic elements carry the intensely picturesque and sculptural imagery of the work. Hence, the diptych constantly creates an active performance while at the same time conjuring up an avid sculpture, a breathing image. These almost still images, whose subtle movements can be likened to the strokes of a painting, a sculpture or a photograph, serve as silent comments on the very active aspects of the work. Thus, the image of the girl leaning forward, with dolls sewn onto her back functions as a key to the girl's background, hinting to her imaginary childhood friends, interpreted as blind, contemplative reflections of herself. And she carries them silently while the parallel projection shows her singing in a resounding voice at a piano. The introverted image of the same girl, whose incessant smile accompanies the love songs performed by the young man, is an indirect response to his song: the girl imagines how it would be if a man sang to her. The qualitative interview method in which the informant is invited to tell the story of an aspect of life is thus lightly interwoven with visually aesthetic elements, symbolism, imagery and tableaux vivants. In this manner, documentary qualities are e

mphasized along with inner experiences, such as how to present yourself visually to each other in a scenario where blindness is a circumstance.