Poor eyes limit your site, poor vision limits your deeds. [Fittingly, the inscription on one bell is in Braille.]
City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection
Tilly Aston, Bell, blindness, memorial, Anton Hassell, 1999, Vision Australia Foundation, Association for the Blind, Kings Domain
Summary
Location: Kings Domain, St Kilda Road
Hasell’s interactive sculpture consists of three connecting bells cast in bronze, and features images of Aston. When this work is approached, movement sensors trigger a series of tolls. Fittingly, the inscription on one bell is in Braille.
Tilly Aston was the first blind person in Australia to attend university, but her education was cut short by an absence of textbooks in Braille. In 1894, she established a Braille library and a year later founded the Association for the Blind, the aim of which was to improve the quality of life for the blind through self-help rather than through charity. She was responsible for gaining the blind free post for Braille and talking books, free travel on public transport and the right to vote.
This sculpture by Victorian artist Anton Hasell commemorates the centenary of the Vision Australia Foundation and the life and achievements of its founder, Tilly Aston. Formerly known as the Association for the Blind, this organisation has provided services and advocacy for people with blindness and vision impairment since 1895.
Unveiled 28 April, 1999
