Die Farbe der Dunkelheit ist Weiß

A conversation with Dr. Kerim Altinok and Dr. Selim Altinok

Text: Dora Martinez (dora@lensethics.org)
Photos courtesy of Kerim and Selim Altinok.

Where would the color of darkness fall on Sir Isaac Newton’s color wheel? Color does not exist outside of our minds and our perception of color is certainly personal and subjective, usually shaped by our experience and even culture. But, what if — we lost our sight?

I spent most of my childhood seeing from the perspective of a child whose mother had lost her vision, interpreting my world through light, shadows, whites, greys, hues, and contrasts. The loss of vision was not my own but, that didn’t matter — in my young mind, even smells were assigned a color. Creative people like to challenge the status quo, we don’t accept the hand we are dealt. Instead, we carve a path for ourselves, shaping the world around us, one move at a time.

Meet Dr. Kerim Altinok and Dr. Selim Altinok, they are identical twins, doctors, musicians, writers, lawyers, and yes…chessplayers. Kerim and Selim are both participating in the first FIDE Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities as part of a team from Turkey.

We sat down for a chat, much in the same way we are all communicating during the pandemic — with a Zoom call.