There are 50 million blind people in the world;
90% of these people live in developing countries.
‘What use is an exterior view of the factory
if I cannot see what is going on inside the
building in terms of relationships, wage
labour, capital, international investments –
a photograph says nothing about the
factory itself’
Bertolt Brecht.
Filmed images reproduce the appearance
of things and therefore to some extent reaffirm
the existence of them; representations that
show things as they are – not as they could
be. 80% of all blindness is avoidable.
*Screening with the short film, A Tourist
Excursion to the Burren.
“Of all noxious animals, too, the most
noxious is a tourist…”
Francis Kilvert, Diary, 5th April 1870.
I n December 2005 Rod Stoneman was
commissioned by the Burren Spring
Conference and encountered the Burren with
an ordinary group of tourists on a short tour,
exploring the landscape and its historical
and cultural environment through fresh
eyes. What perspective and expectation
do tourists bring to Burren? Does it offer
a meaningful experience? How do the
interpretations offered by guides frame it
for the newcomer?
