Q: How did you start making art?

A: For me, art started when I was six years old. My local school took me to a gallery. At this time I was blind in one eye. I lost the sight in my right eye between the age of four and six. There are no artists in my family, and I grew up in a very poor area somewhere in Portsmouth where there wasn’t much culture, but my school took me to this gallery called Aspects, and it changed my life. I knew then, when I stepped into that building, that I was going to be an artist. Since then, no matter what's happened in my life, leaving school early, having health problems, experiencing sight loss, art has always been a constant in my life. Two years ago, I had my first contemporary exhibition at Aspects, the gallery that I had visited as a kid, and now I am a trustee of Aspects. It's a beautiful story.

 

Q: So did you always want to be an artist when you grew up?

A: I don't know where it came from. Usually, when you're creative, you have an uncle or a granddad that you copy. But for me, it was a way of escaping life, having grown up in poverty and not having much. The first things I used to draw were comic book strips, creating little characters, creating little stories. Back then, in the late 80s and early 90s, it was one of the only ways to deal with mental health issues. We talk about it a lot more today, but back then, it wasn't it wasn't heard of. So really, art saved my life. If it wasn't for art, I don't think I'd be talking to you right now.

 

Q: How would you describe your art to other people?

A: It’s evolved One thing that’s always been very constant, especially in my teens, is the use of dots. I was a big fan of pointillism. I often explain to people how I see out of my bad eye; it’s like I'm looking at 1000 dots. Those pixelated images always came clear to me, so I was a big fan of pointillism. When I first lost my sight and started to learn braille, it was a no-brainer, and now those dots mean something. So I would say I'm a braille typographer. Basically, I take the Braille dot and let the English language host it. Why is Braille hidden away? It doesn't have to be hidden away, it can be as powerful as typeface, and that's what my art is.

 

Q: How has your visual impairment impacted your ability to make art and your experience in the art world? 

A: When you're losing the sight in one of your eyes, it doesn't restrict you that much. But when you start losing your sight in the other one, it affects your ability to draw and write. At the time this began happening, I was a dental model maker, which involves fine, detailed work. When I was first told that I was going to lose sight in both of my eyes, I started to explore textiles and incorporate things that you can touch into my visual art. We don't see with our eyes, we see with our brains, and I have thirty-plus years of memory of what colors look like. So what I've been doing for the past four years, which is the hardest hurdle, is creating new memories of how I perceive color now. I see yellow, but it’s not yellow as I remember it. It’s becoming more dirty and green. That's the fun thing about going blind. For me, every day is a new day. A new day of learning, a new day of adapting my art so I can carry on. And because my artwork is all about words, I'm literally putting my life into my art.

 

Q: What empowers you as an artist?

A: What empowers me now is making a difference. A couple of years ago, I tried to fight the system. I got a degree in art and a job in model making. Then, I had to give up that job. Many people don’t look at the creative industry as a profession, they see it more as a hobby. But I thought, “No. I worked hard, and I’m not going to give up my dream.” Now, people contact me from all around the world. I’m making an impact. People are using me as case studies. They say, “What you’re doing is important.” It's always the right time to be the first. Someone's got to be the first to say “I want to be as big an artist as Jeff Koons. I want an exhibit at the MOMA. Why not?” Because I’m blind?” I want to inspire the next generation of visually impaired children and tell them that they can achieve anything. They can do anything mainstream artists do. 

 

What would you say the message of your art is?

They say a picture says 1000 words. Mine literally does. My goal is to push the boundaries of braille in the 21st century. To me, braille is a metaphor for blindness. It’s a small dot, hidden away. But when you start blowing it up, and making it big, and raising awareness, people start talking about sight loss. So for me, my art is breaking down barriers. We're starting to talk about visually impaired people in different industries. It’s not just about visual art, it’s the idea that they could be actors, they could be poets, reporters, chefs, anything. Society usually only tells us what we can’t do. I want to talk about what we can do. That's what my artwork does. It’s it's more than the visual, it’s about inspiring people. That’s what’s powerful, and that’s what I’m most proud of.