About Us

Welcome to the Reading Paintings podcast created and presented by David Johnson and Harry Baxter. In these podcasts they will be visiting museums, galleries and cultural institutions, exploring works of art  through live description and discussion. their primary focus is on paintings but they will also be investigating other forms of art such as sculpture and multimedia installations.

 

The conversations they record are unscripted, informal and spontaneous. They consist of two artists intuitive verbal responses to a work of art. David is a blind artist, Harry is a sighted artist and audio describer. Through this interplay between conversation and audio description Harry’s verbalisations are led by David's blindness. This process leads to unexpected insights into works of art which are then shared with the listener. Implicit within this process is the concept of 'Disability Gain', where the creation of a disability accessible society benefits everyone.

Meet the team:

David Johnson

David Johnson is a UK based, blind artist. He says he is “unashamedly a blind artist rather than an artist who is blind”. In his art practice he uses a wide range of materials and processes including concrete, plaster, found objects and sonics. He produces a wide range of cast objects, 3D print objects, assemblages and installations, all of which provoke, challenge and upset beholder expectations. His pieces range from the monumental to the hand-held and often involve familiar, everyday objects and references. His art mission is not to overcome the barriers that blindness undoubtedly puts in the way in our visually biased world, but rather to show that experiences of beauty and knowledge are core elements in a blind person’s life just as much as they are in anyone else’s life.

Harry Baxter

Harry Baxter is a practicing sighted artist and audio describer. He trained in audio description at The Royal Academy of Arts and has described every major exhibition there from 2010 to 2019. He has performed descriptions for many institutions including; The Tate Gallery, The British Museum, Kings College University, The Barbican, Liberty Festival, The Royal College of Arts, The GLA, The Jennifer Lauren Gallery, The National Archives and for The British Council.

He has also lectured on his specific approach to audio description at the University of Granada in Spain.

Ian Rattray

Ian Rattray is a blind audio producer of 20 years experience.  His work includes podcast, sound design and audio for purposes of access.  He has run workshops in audio production and is a associate member of the Association of Sound Design and Production.  Some of his recent output includes: Disability And, a monthly arts podcast on behalf of DAO, Associate Sound Design for the Otto Weit Brush and broom Workshop for the Blind musical, January 2025 and the Unseen audio drama (2025) on behalf of Extant Theatre.

 

You can contact David, Harry or Ian through the Reading Paintings email: readingpaintings@gmail.com