We usually prepare for exhibitions by reading up on the given topic and exploring the artist's biography. However, for the Invisible Exhibition at Millenáris we can only prepare psychologically. Before our first visit, we didn't know how the experience of being in complete darkness would affect us and how well we would be able to rely on our sense of touch, smell and balance. Fortunately, we left the exhibition with good feelings, and having learnt and experienced much, thanks to the well-developed program and our informative guide.

We were a bit apprehensive ahead of our visit. While a child might see the one-hour experience of darkness as a game, adults can interpret the situation in an extremely different way. They might ask themselves: What if? What if I had to live my whole life this way, plunged into darkness?

We advise arriving at least 15 minutes before the start of the tour. In this time, study the special household objects exhibited in the foyer of the exhibition, which can help us tune in to the subject matter. After all, it's not often we get to see a Braille typewriter and other tools developed for the blind and visually impaired people.

At the start of the tour, we still have some light, but slowly we descended into complete darkness. Our tour leader, Csilla, a lady who is blind from birth, led us with her lovely voice throughout the tour, thus making us feel more comfortable. The first 10 minutes are the toughest – it is frightening to see the same with closed, as with open eyes: nothing. We might see some flashes at first, similar to those that appear after we rub our eyes, but we soon convince ourselves that we do not have night vision and can only hear the other 7 visitors.

We found it amazing that someone, who might need our help in other everyday situations, could lead us with such confidence. At the Invisible Exhibition, we might be led by someone who we have helped across a zebra crossing before. Maybe this is the reason why now we can trust their voice and instructions, and why we follow them blindly – in a quite literal sense.

We do not want to give away too much of what we “saw” inside. But we can tell you that we experienced many impulses and feelings. About twenty minutes into the tour, everyone seemed to calm down – we just went wherever Csilla led us. We found it strange that we could remember the material of the other visitor's sweaters and could even connect a name to a touch, instead of a face. Even the warmth of the heaters and the texture of the wall felt different somehow.

We completely lost our sense of time after a while, and our excitement simmered down. Talking about everyday topics lightened the mood. We could ask everything we had always wanted to ask about what it's like to be blind. What do they see when they dream? How do they read and use their imagination? How do they distinguish the different Forint paper notes? Do they get scammed in shops? How can we help a blind man cross the street, when and how should we embrace them? Which is more difficult: growing up blind or losing eyesight later in life? To all these questions, and more, we got honest and quite often humorous answers - all the while still in the dark.

Then came our savior, light, which was more painful than liberating at first. We said goodbye to Csilla, whose sense of humor and knowledge made our tour very enjoyable. One thing is sure: whoever visits the Invisible Exhibition will not think that blind people are “sightless” anymore. They live without the most basic sense, which can process the most information – but still have a challenging yet very complete life.
Láthatatlan Kiállítás
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1024 Budapest, Kis Rókus utca 16-20. (Millenáris)AWebsite
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