Exploring Genetics Through Photography: The Island Of The Colorblind

A beautiful and fascinating photo project by Belgian photographer Sanne De Wilde exploring the concept of color blindness.

The Island of the Colorblind, also known as Pingelap Atoll, is a small island in the South Pacific. History says that in 1775 a typhoon killed most of its population. One of the few survivors carried a gene for an extreme type of color blindness, and eventually passed it to later generations. Today, 10 percent of the island's population has the condition, while elsewhere the rate is one-in-30,000.

What I loved about this project is how the photographer used this concept to inspire a series of photographs, which resulted in beautiful images of the island.

"Color is just a word to those who cannot see it."

How does a colorblind person see the word?

De Wilde used different lenses on her camera to distort the colors. She also asked some of the people from the island to color black and white photographs with watercolors. The results are inspiring.

De Wilde's other projects also explore genetics and social stigma from a photographic point of view, including albinism and dwarfism.