The concept of photography done by blind individuals sounds impossible, but an intriguing and eye-catching photography exhibition at the Huntington Museum of Art begs to differ.

The exhibition, “Sight Unseen: International Photography by Blind Artists,” opened Oct. 15 at the HMOA. The exhibit assembles more than 100 works by a dozen photographers from all over the world. The photographers are legally blind, born without sight or with limited vision and others who have lost their vision over time.

“You would think that handing a blind person a camera would be a cruel joke or something, but it’s not,” Chris Hatten, senior curator of the HMOA, said. “Everyone has a story here and it is really fascinating.”

“For me, people with severe visual impairments, I don’t drive, I’ve never been able to drive a car, and unless I was three inches away from someone, I can’t see any detail of their face,” Bruce Hall, whose work is included in the exhibit, said. “I can’t read street signs unless I’m right next to the pole or it is a very large sign, unless I use a monocular or a smart phone. I’ve always used photography to bring in the world, to see things. For me, that’s always been the motivation. My whole life has felt out of reach, but, through photography, I can see details in things.”

Some of the photographers express art from the regions of their own minds, others use sensory, such as hearing and smell, to guide their cameras or rely on pure chance. Other artists who have very limited sight use the camera to amplify visual images as they pursue a heightened method of seeing.

“I can’t belong to this world if I can’t imagine it in my own way,” Evgen Bavcar, whose work is included in the exhibit, said. “When a blind person says ‘I imagine,’ it means he too has an inner representation of external realities.”

“Sight Unseen” is also the first museum exhibition in the world to use technology by 3DPhotoWorks that creates three-dimensional versions of the photographs for people with vision loss. The museum will have eight 3-D copies of work that will be on display.

“Look at the work first, and if you don’t understand or if you have assumptions, then ask questions,” Hall said. “I think with anything in this world, we need to talk to each other and try to understand each other regardless of challenges and disability. Think about disability in a different way. Think about it not as what you can’t do, but what you can do. There are lots of people that have challenges. Let’s help people focus and succeed with whatever challenge they may face.”

“Sight Unseen” will be at the Huntington Museum of Art until Jan. 8, 2017. A free opening reception for the exhibit will be Oct. 23 from 2 to 4 p.m. The opening reception is scheduled to include free vision screenings provided by the Huntington Downtown Lions’ Club.

Representatives from Alcon, the Cabell-Wayne Association of the Blind, The American Foundation for the Blind and the Huntington Downtown Lions’ Club will be available to provide information about the services their organizations offer to people who are visually impaired.

Ceramic works by local artists from the Cabell-Wayne Association of the Blind will be exhibited in the Education Gallery.

Krislyn Holden can be contacted at [email protected].