The Tactus series is an investigation into direct communicative artworks for the blind and visual impaired. The textile based scores are haptic sound generating surfaces that celebrate the braille music notation system of Louis Braille and the graphic scores of Cornelius Cardew. Tactus explores the interweaving of the auditory and tactile, and offers a questioning of the nature of art objects and their presentation in galleries and museums.
The series began in 2011 as a result of an award from the Leverhulme foundation and a residency at London Printworks Trust. A new wall-mounted installation of Tactus has been commissioned by Crafts Council UK and will be exhibited at the Kaunas Biennial, 2015. I worked with James on both Score Study II and the newest incarnation, exploring the possibilities and needs required to create a textile print in legible Braille and additional tactile qualities.
The Kaunas Biennial’s partner, Crafts Council (UK), has explored the impact of new technologies on contemporary art by organising an international seminar and curating an exhibition called Sonic Pattern, in which interdisciplinary sound, video and visual art projects are presented. The installation “Dataflags” by Fabio Lattanzi Antinori, recently seen in the V&A Museum, and James Bulley’s project „Tactus“, creating experiences of Braille via sound, engages with the audiences; connections of images and sound were explored by David Littler, Knyttan and Alex Mclean’s live performances as well.
The exhibition is open to the public now, following the opening on the 18 September as part of the Kaunas Biennial at Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery, Lithuania until 1 January 2016.