VISLAN

Vislan: Visual Translation Language

With Geoff Munck (Brisbane) and Phebe Parisia (Melbourne)
2014—2017

Vislan is informed by the lived experience of people with low vision and blindness. The goal of this project is to increase cultural inclusion for people who are 'remote' from full visual experiences. Devised by Geoffrey Munck in 2011, Vislan seeks ways to more effectively discern, acquire and communicate the measurable characteristics of visual objects and events. 

Din met Geoff on a visit to Brisbane in 2014, and they later collaborated on expanding the Vislan system using combinations of literary methods and remediation to facilitate visual translation. In 2015, Melbourne-based artist and material conservator Phebe Parisia joined the team, bringing further improvements to the observational method.

This developed into the Vislan iC2 Pilot creating and presenting text and audio 'translations' of public sculptures on Swanston Street. With the support of the City of Melbourne Arts Grants Program, iC2 was presented in October 2015 at Performing Mobilities, an international assembly curated by Mick Douglas for PSi#21 Fluid States: Performances of Unknowing. 

Din also submitted an MFA thesis (Bridging the Unseen in Art Writing) to The University of Melbourne in 2017. The thesis describes the development and delivery of the pilot translation system and suggests a learning methodology for observers that is compatible with adaptive technology and verification by remote users.