A revolutionary sculpture exhibition featuring works by blind and partially sighted artists has opened at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, challenging traditional notions about how art should be experienced. "Beyond the Visual," described as the first major UK exhibition to center blind and partially blind artists and curators, invites visitors to explore art through touch and other senses rather than sight alone.
The exhibition draws inspiration from renowned sculptor Henry Moore's belief that tactility was paramount to both creating and experiencing sculpture. Moore wanted people to be able to touch his work, but the current value and importance of his pieces means that touching them in most museums is strictly forbidden. This restriction is particularly limiting for people who rely on touch for perception, making traditional museum experiences largely inaccessible.
The show features notable works including Moore's "Mother and Child: Arch" from 1959 and Barry Flanagan's "Elephant" from 1981. Both artists were previously connected to the Tate's landmark 1981 exhibition "Sculpture for the Blind." However, the new exhibition takes a fundamentally different approach to accessibility and inclusion.
"The idea of sculpture for the blind is a bit odd because it suggests a special type of sculpture that somehow for the blind and all other sculpture is not," explains Ken Wilder, a professor of aesthetics and co-curator of the exhibition. Instead of creating separate art for blind audiences, the curators have developed what they call a "vocabulary of touch" - a set of approaches that encourage all visitors to pay closer attention to their sensory experiences.
The exhibition was co-curated by Wilder alongside Aaron McPeake, an artist and associate lecturer at Chelsea College of Arts who is registered blind, and Clare O'Dowd, a research curator at the institute. O'Dowd says the experience has fundamentally changed how she approaches all exhibitions. "I'll never be the same again," she reflects. For the institution, the process represented "the steepest learning curve ever."
Extensive consultation workshops at Tate Modern and the Henry Moore Institute placed the lived experiences of people with different levels of visual ability at the center of planning. This input shaped every aspect of the exhibition, from marketing strategies to project management approaches. Practical accommodations included sending emails in larger font sizes and creating posters around Leeds that advertise the show through sensor-triggered sound systems.
The physical layout of the exhibition required careful consideration to ensure accessibility. Abundant seating was installed throughout the galleries because exploring artworks through touch and audio descriptions takes significantly more time than visual observation. Gallery staff and wall text panels are dressed in bright yellow because high contrast colors are essential for partially sighted visitors. Textured floor mats signal when artworks are within reach, and most importantly, all objects in the exhibition are available to be touched and handled.
The exhibition features works by 16 international artists, ranging from British sculptor Lenka Clayton to New Orleans-born Emilie Louise Gossiaux. While most pieces are traditional sculptures, some works incorporate sound and movement, particularly Aaron McPeake's bell metal pieces "Rings" (2025) and "Icelandic Landscapes" (2007-2024), which create resonant audio experiences.
Several works stand out for their innovative approaches to non-visual art experiences. Collin van Uchelen's "Project Fire Flower" translates the artist's own firework displays, originally designed from audio descriptions, into illuminated tactile panels that visitors can explore through touch. Jennifer Justice's "Bucket of Rain" (2021) features lengths of dog-tag metal chain attached to the rim of a rusty bucket, with beautifully crafted wooden drop-shaped pieces hanging at the ends that create both tactile and auditory experiences.
British sculptor David Johnson contributed two specially commissioned works for the exhibition. His piece "Nuggets of Embodiment" consists of 10,000 stone-plaster replicas of Digestive biscuits, with Braille words like "comma" and "attunement" appearing where the beloved snack's brand name would typically be found. This work playfully combines familiar tactile experiences with new forms of communication and meaning.
Johnson emphasizes that while visitors will notice indicators of blindness throughout the exhibition - Braille text and more guide dogs than most galleries typically welcome - the show's deeper purpose goes beyond accommodation. "More importantly, the exhibition, to Johnson's mind, is of blindness. And it's of being human," he explains. "That's the most important thing. If the show can leave that sort of message, it's done its job."
"Beyond the Visual" will remain on display at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds until April 19, 2026, offering visitors an extended opportunity to experience this groundbreaking approach to inclusive art curation and sensory exploration.
