#1245: Dreams of Blindness

Dreams of Blindness (2025) is a VR documentary and participatory installation that explores the inner worlds of visually impaired people through their dreams. Based on interviews with 22 visually impaired participants in China, the work presents multiple dream narratives through participants’ authentic voices and dream-like visualizations. The project employs AI-assisted processes, from transcript analysis to visual generation, to support the creative translation of non-visual sensory experiences while minimizing authorial bias. By foregrounding emotional and sensory dimensions of dreaming, the film invites audiences to reconsider dominant assumptions about blindness. Alongside the VR experience, a participatory Dream Book encourages viewers to visualize and record their own dreams, transforming the installation into a shared reflective space. Through this arts-based research approach, the work seeks to foster empathy, dialogue, and critical reflection on disability, perception, and human imagination.