Mark Cousins Releases Film Adaptation 'The Story of Looking' on September 17

Filmmaker Mark Cousins has adapted his 2017 book 'The Story of Looking' into a movie, released on September 17 by Modern Films in theaters and virtual cinema. The film explores visual perception through self-imposed confinement, created before the COVID-19 pandemic forced global lockdowns. Cousins filmed entirely in his darkened bedroom without opening blinds, drawing connections between historical visual theories and personal experiences. He references ninth-century scientist Hunayn ibn Ishaq's theories about vision and Russian theorist Viktor Shklovsky's concept of ostranenie (de-familiarization of perception). The project was influenced by Cousins' childhood during the Troubles in 1970s Belfast, which he describes as another form of lockdown. During production, Cousins underwent cataract surgery that temporarily removed vision in one eye, leading to reflections on Satyajit Ray's 1958 film 'Jalsaghar (The Music Room)', Busby Berkeley dance routines, and electron microscope imagery. The filmmaker suggests that reduced visual input can create 'optical silence' that allows for more original projection and visual thinking, comparing the experience to an incubator rather than a prison. ArtReview is providing access to the film for its readers through their platform.