Blind in 1 eye is a visual & audio project that engages with ethnomusicological methodologies and focuses on immersive, long-term documentary practises via filming, photography and field recordings. Specialising in self-produced research, all aspects of production are undertaken independently, often working with minimal resources to maintain a close, unobtrusive presence within the communities documented. Blind in 1 eye’s practise reflects a commitment to embodied fieldwork and cross-cultural collaboration, situating this work at the intersection of visual anthropology, sound studies and documentary film.
Singing to the Winds (Yimande Henndu) 2025, 1hr
Singing to the Winds is an ethnomusicological journey into the heart of the Fouta-Toro region, where the Wambabe — Fulani Griots — carry centuries of oral tradition across the arid landscapes of northern Senegal and Mauritania. Blending ancient storytelling with modern tools, these itinerant musicians travel from remote village to village, performing appraisals in exchange for food, shelter, and most often goats — their songs echoing through the scorching Harmattan wind. In a region where literacy is scarce, the villagers repurpose social media and collage apps to preserve performances, transforming emojis and stickers into a shared visual language. As the Bambados compose haunting melodies on handmade instruments, touched by Sahelian guitar rhythms, their road becomes a testament to resilience, reinvention, and the evolving pulse of tradition in a rapidly digitising world.
ABDURAHMAN DIALLO
From the collection 'The Griots of Fouta Toro'
It is through my friend Cheikh Tidiane Mbaye, that I met Abdurahman Diallo in the village of Ado. Abdurahman lived modestly, along with his son and daughters and their children too, all under one roof. Goats roamed freely and the smoke was still going from the hot coals the family heated coffee with. He came out of his house wearing a Boubou that I knew well, is worn for a special occasion only. It’s shiny fabric contrasted with the mud and straw buildings around him in a way that gave me a strange knot in my chest. In a world of having so little, there was so much dignity and pride in one’s culture, that I never had a pleasure to experience personally. Playing praises is how a griot makes a living, but Abdurahman sensed exactly the importance of our cultural exchange. He was welcoming me into his world with respect and open mind, which made me sort of sad, pondering on how African people are welcomed outside their continent in return. Abdurahman had a true wiseman aura about him, although the village of Ado, beautiful and sunny as it was, seemed like the most isolated place I have ever witnessed. A horse cart and a taxi away, you can leave this place, it’s mud houses, the goats and the shepherds, but you will also leave some sort of magic behind, something that only people like Abdurahman can embody. And me, I can just bask in his beams for a minute, listening to the history of his people, and of his rich culture, spoken by him along the hypnotic riff of his Houdu. “This is all we have, and this is all we welcome you with”.
ON THE ROAD - Fulani griot & Baye Fall devotional songs (Field recording mixtape)
A compilation of field recordings done during 2023-2024 extensive travelling through Senegal & Mauritania.
Listen on -> SOUND CLOUD
BAYE FALL NAMANALA (2024)
Shot over the course of one year (2023-2024), BAYE FALL NAMANALA, is a dreamlike audiovisual journey exploring the devotional music and dancing of Sufi Islamic sub-sect called Baye Fall. This spiritual movement, catalysed by Cheikh Ibrahima Fall, rose to popularity during the harsh French colonial rule. It played an immense role in strengthening the morale of the impoverished and oppressed lower classes. Working closely with Amdy Kounta, a devotee and a prominent member of the sect who consulted on the film, BAYE FALL NAMANALA aims to provide an authentic and personal representation of this devotional practice, one little known outside Senegal.
Following the disciples and the Marabouts (Spiritual guides) around the country to various gatherings, viewers will be invited to feel the power of communal healing through the intoxicating ritual of chanting and dancing together. Shot entirely on VHS, and blurring the lines between the past and the present, this intimate and experimental ethnomusicology film will reveal the rich spiritual landscape of the West African nation and the importance of creating a safe space where inhibitions are abandoned, bodies feel no pain and the sounds put you in a trance-like state of mind – all of which is believed to bring one closer to the Divine.
Filmed, edited by Adelina Sasnauskaite & Chiara Baima Poma
Co-produced with Amdy Kounta
Screened at:
Womex, Manchester, 2024
Sonica Ekrano, Lisbon, 2025
Elphinstone Institute, Ethnomusicology screenings, Aberdeen 2024