Shadow play... sport without sight
Magali Delporte
Winner of the 2001 Canon Female Photojournalist Award presented by the Association de Femmes Journalistes
“Shadow play… sport without sight”
« See well, live well! » This advertising slogan shows how much our society is governed by the visual, excluding from the public sphere all those who ‘see differently’. And yet there are 50 million people in the world who are blind or amblyopic (partially sighted).
My first contact with people of this kind was through sport. It completely shattered the stereotypes I had about them. As a result I decided to photograph them in this environment where they are intrepid and competitive, and where they can achieve, as amateurs or as professionals.
The usual signs associated with blindness are practically inexistent in this environment. There are no guide dogs or white sticks. The condition of the participants is apparent in other ways, such as the blindfold covering the footballers’ eyes, the rope linking the runner and his partner, or the sound of the ski guide’s voice. In each context this relationship based trust is unique. In the case of rodeo this relationship is between man and horse!
Preview
Whether it is just a hobby or one’s very reason for living, sport liberates the body and the mind. For blind people, who use ‘sound shadows’ to find their way around within a space, it also sharpens the acuteness of their hearing. Sport helps partially-sighted people to use their residual vision as much as possible. And this training of the senses also halps them in their day-to-day lives.
Sports were first adapted for blind people after World War II, during which many adults had lost their sight without losing their physical strength or need for exercise. International competitions first appeared in the 70s and since then almost every sport has been taken up by those in search of a challenge. Hardly a week goes by without a competition taking place somewhere in the world and, thanks to the exchange of information, different techniques are shared and constantly improved.
One of the people in this project, who lost his sight as a result of diabetes, uses a metaphor to explain how he overcame his handicap: "When a clock stops working, time does not stop. It’s only when you look at the clock that you get the feeling that it has stopped. It’s the same for us. Life goes on - it’s a question of being able to adapt and showing courage." And an enormous amount of courage is needed.
These stories, which were shot in several countries, are my personal tribute to the strength of will of these people; I wanted to depict in action, in effort and in joy in a lively and colourful environment.
For making these journeys possible, I would like to thank Canon Female Photojournalist Award and the Association des Femmes Journalistes (French Association of Women Journalists), designed to offer financial support to a female photojournalist.
