2024 marks the 200th anniversary of braille and in celebration of such an occasion, award-winning and boundary-pushing blind Braille artist Clarke Reynolds is debuting his second solo exhibition today, titled ‘Five Degrees of Vision’.
From February 15 to March 15, folks will be able to catch Reynolds’ exhibition at Grove Gallery in Fitzrovia where he explores light, shadow, and the relationship between the visual and tactile through braille, pushing the boundaries of accessibility.
Using braille as an artistic medium, Reynolds’ tactile artwork is created using a singular technique of embossing braille dots onto paper and other materials to create striking visual artworks that also incorporate texture and touch. The name ‘Five Degrees of Vision’ is taken from Reynolds’ limited residual vision that helps him see changes in light and shadow, which lends his work a distinctive viewpoint.
“As a blind artist, I have a very different relationship with visual perception that informs my work in interesting ways,” says Reynolds. “I aim to create art that can be appreciated by all, regardless of one’s ability to see. My braille embossing is a bridge between the visual and the tactile, allowing anyone to have an enriching experience of my art through touch or sight or both.”
‘Five Degrees of Vision’ follows Reynolds’ debut solo exhibition ‘The Power of Touch’ in early 2023, where guests who didn’t have low vision were given special glasses to help them experience the artwork in the same way a blind or partially sighted would. This new exhibition features all new works from Reynolds who has previously featured as himself in London’s iconic Morph trail which was visited by thousands of people in 2023, created the first braille menu window for Italian restaurant chain ‘Ask’, and toured and exhibited in India where he taught braille to children, amongst many other accolades.
Opening night tonight of the exhibition at the Grove Gallery will see Reynolds doing some live braille art in the gallery in celebration of the launch of his exhibition.
Find the Grove Gallery at 156 New Cavendish Street, W1W 6YW.