PORTRAITS that can be seen, felt and heard go on show for the first time this month.

The portraits of blind and partially sighted people are the work of photographer Rebecca Dearden and begin a tour with an exhibition at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford on January 26.

Alongside six life-size photographic portraits are more intimate tactile versions.

With the T3 'talking tactile tablet' team, based at the RNC, Rebecca has created images that, when touched, trigger spoken comments from the portrait subjects themselves.

Six students from the Royal National College volunteered to appear in the work and to be interviewed for the T3 talking images.

Research has shown that people with a visual impairment can not only appreciate pictures by touch, but that the ability to understand how a flat image represents the three-dimensional world can be very important in the development of other skills.

"The work has raised some fascinating questions about the relationship between the photographer and the subject, between the subject and the viewer and about the status of a 'distanced' vision as opposed to the intimacy of touch," explained Rebecca.

"Very often, when a photograph is taken, it's done without the subject's knowledge or permission - or, at the very least, they are unlikely to see the images.

"Portraits of people who could never see the end result highlights this one-way relationship, in which the photographer is in control of the image and the photographed becomes an object for other people to look at."

It is hoped that more organisations and venues will become involved to widen access to the results of the project.

By Julie Harries