Hayley: Welcome to the show. I'm your host Haley, a blind advocate for visually impaired people. In this podcast, we're highlighting the challenges and barriers faced by visually impaired people and sharing their lived experiences. Today I am absolutely delighted to welcome Mr Dot to the show, also known as Clark Reynolds. He is a blind artist who has redefined art by incorporating Braille into his artworks. Through his art workshops, he has introduced Brow to over ten thousand students. On top of these incredible achievements, he has also published a children's book named Mr Dot and his magical white cane adventures to break the stigmas within Sight Loss and to inspire children to believe in themselves. Mr Dot, it is such a pleasure to finally meet you.
Hayley Sightlines: So to begin, could you share a few basic details about yourself for the archive, including your name, age, gender, if you would like to share, where you were born, where you currently live, and what languages you speak?
Clarke: Okay, my name is Clark Reynolds, AK Mr Dot, age forty five male, born in Plymouth, which is a navy town, and now currently reside in Portsmouth.
Hayley Sightlines: Great, thank you. And how would you describe your visual impairment? For instance, could you share a little about your visual impairment if you feel comfortable? In particular, when did your visual impairment begin? And what was the cause? Was it something you were born with or something that developed later?
Clarke: So how I see it's it's like looking underwater. and every day is a new day, depending on light conditions, depending on where I am. And it's like being born again every day. And my eyesight started the t well, I started at a young age at the age of six. So from four to six, I was up the hospital every four weeks with scans and drops. And so I was registered blind in one eye from the age of six and that's my right eye. went into education, you know, didn't think I was blind and then thirteen years ago I was given a diagnosis that I was losing my sight in my other eye. for me because I have a creative, I don't really think I don't you see if your you have your brain, not your eyes. So it's not really my god, I wake in the morning, my blind. 'Cause You know, the idea that I I see my brain and it is it as an artist it's it's really helped me well, come over the fact that I am restored blind.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, that's a really, really insightful perspective, I think. Personally, I became blind as well when I was six. Well, started, my vision started to deteriorate, yeah. Okay, so leading on to that, what three words would you use to describe yourself?
Clarke: Determination, creative and chaos.
Hayley Sightlines: I think you're definitely very inspiring as well, if I could just add.
Clarke: I received a most amazing lovely email from a school in Romania, a British led school, who their year fives have created art inspired by my art to raise funds for a local sight loss charity.
Hayley Sightlines: Well that is I so amazing to have other children be inspired by you and raise money, like raise funds for charities. That is such a great opportunity for them to learn more about inclusivity, especially in art, where I think often blind people are kind of less, they participate less, especially.
Clarke: Yes, a and and you know, i it stems back from how blind people are back from like the fifties and sixties. What is art, what is what is creativity, and it's usually a lump of clay or basket weaving. That was the that was a done deal back then. You know, and the idea that someone like myself can compete in mainstream art is unheard of. you know, I've got some exciting projects that I'm doing one right now that I can't say too much, but I'm I'm sure this one will literally put me on the map.
Hayley Sightlines: I'll be so excited to hear more about it when it comes out, though.
Clarke: It will yeah from next week. That's the plan. Yeah.
Hayley Sightlines: I'll definitely keep an eye out then. So how would you say did your experience of visual impairment shape the way you grew up and understanding the world around you?
Clarke: It's so strange. We talked about how I see. So I usually say I used to see like a through a thousand dots, like pixelation. So when I closed my eye, when I was younger, you know those pixel the the the old fashioned pixelated images? I would see them clearly. And I was
Hayley Sightlines: Yes.
Clarke: fas I was fascinated with dots. So my i you know, back you know, my eyesight has made me who I am today, you know. I used to do lots of pointalism during school. Which is if
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah.
Clarke: your listeners are hearing is is the build up of dots upon dots upon dots to create an art piece. So
Hayley Sightlines: Yes.
Clarke: when I discovered Braille, it was a no brainer that I had to go blind to bring Braille to the masses and it was a I love it, I love who I am.
Hayley Sightlines: It just boosted you on the journey towards more creativity, didn't it?
Clarke: Yeah, and it it's a way of telling stories, you know, the idea that what how my artwork is, I can physically tell stories through touch and no other artist in the world is doing what I'm doing, which is unique. so I am the leading braille artist in the world.
Hayley Sightlines: you say your family responded to your visual impairment growing up? there any family?
Clarke: That is one yeah, that is what yeah. I mean, that's the hardest question of all. because I mean my dad was a a Navy dad, so the idea that I should have gone, followed these footsteps and joined the armed forces. And so he never really understood me as an artist. So he don't he never really understood me as a blind person. unfortunately he passed away a year ago, quite suddenly. so he's not he's not seen me progress to where I am today. my daughter we have a great relationship. I home educate my daughter and I see my daughter through our conversations. And you know, I like to be just treated normally. So my mates, you know, all my mates are sighted, you know, they don't treat me differently and that's the way I want to be treated. I'm not I'm there's no the difference between me and my friends is I've got a white cane and that's it. There's nothing wrong, you know, there's the idea of society that a blind person can't, you know, mingle and just be normal is wrong. You know, normality What is normality? No one's normal. So that's how I see the world.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, I think the world should definitely view people as more as individuals instead of labeled by their disability.
Clarke: That's right.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, so did your education take place in a mainstream school, a school specialized for blind and visually impaired students, or a combination of both? And how did that environment shape your learning experience, confidence and sense of belonging?
Clarke: So, back in my office, I'm only blinded one eye. So I was in a normal mainstream school, wore the patches. I I remember being put at the back of class so I wouldn't hurt anyone and no one would hurt me. That's my earliest memories. But I've gone through I left school at the age of fourteen due to other health problems actually. but like I said, that determination, which I said that word earlier. I you know, I got D VQ in art design, diploma in art design. Did a first year fine art, but I thought I'd get a skill page behind me. So I changed my degree to model making, which is quite ironic really when I don't know what a straight line looks like. so even though I use straight lines now, even though I can't see them, I have to rely on the instruments. So it's really strange to go into industry where straight lines are key. and so I really it was fascinating to do my degree. But like I say, I've lived my life, you I became a dental model maker, I drove, it wasn't until like say twelve thirteen years ago that the diagnosis that I lost everything. But say lose everything, to be fair, I've gained everything, you know. I I I love being blind, it's made me better person and a better artist.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes, I definitely agree. often find that certain things, certain talents that were hidden formally are now newly discovered when, for instance, your eyesight is lost.
Clarke: Yes. And like I said, the art, you know, I would never I've always done art with dots, but now those dots mean something. It and I I love that you we talk about inspiring schools, you know, thirty five thousand kids in the past four years from around the world has engaged with Mr. Dot and and asked questions and I've inspired them about Braille. So that's not too bad for someone who told you were told that art is a hobby because I've lost my sight.
Hayley Sightlines: think that is a tremendous achievement and it's so amazing to see so many people learn more about visual impairment and also how that links to art. It's definitely not talked about enough in the modern time.
Clarke: No, exactly. So and that's what Mr. Dot does. You know, Mr. Dot brings the the the enjoyment, the love of just being who I am. Doesn't matter the sight loss. When I go to the schools, you know, those kids and I always say to them, no matter what barriers they face in life, always hold on to your dreams. And that's the message from Mr. Dot.
Hayley Sightlines: And going back to school, what kinds of support or accommodations helped you succeed in school, work or daily life? For instance, were there any supports you wish had existed earlier?
Clarke: I I'm obviously a bit o lot older than a lot of visually impaired children, and teenagers now who get a lot of support. So back in the eighties, nineteen eighties, no one really talked about sight loss. It wasn't, you know, on the radar or what you know, most people took the mick out of you if we wore glasses. So there's not really much support. I mean, the support I had was f me as a person trying to break free from my society growing up in in a rough area. so it was always a way of breaking free. So, that question is I think geared to a younger audience. you know, the stigma attached to sight loss back in the eighties and nineties was was hard, you know. but like I say I just I didn't think I was I didn't think I was different, which is really important.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes, definitely. I think you should always see yourself and everyone else should see yourself as an individual, a unique person instead of labelled by their disability.
Clarke: That's right.
Hayley Sightlines: And how much connection would you say you had to the visual impaired community when you were younger and how has that changed over time?
Clarke: So I I knew no blind people when I was growing up. but the first thing I did was when I got that diagnosis and I lost everything, my job is like I I I need to, you know, I joined a a a blind sports team. I played bl professionally blind cricket for four years and it really did help me because, you know, we're all in the same boat. We're we're all playing cricket, we can't see the ball at certain times of the day. And I made some really good friends. and helped Helped me deal with who I am as a person. So those four years it really did ground me down to what is sight loss.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, leading on to the next question, do you think there were moments growing up when you felt excluded, misunderstood, or like you did not quite fit in? And how did that, how did you respond?
Clarke: I think the biggest thing, we just talked about the sport, right? Was I was never picked for first for any sports team. because obviously, you know, w wearing glasses, you know, they'd think, you know, you you're not gonna see the ball, you're not gonna see this. so it was really I think growing up and the art the art really kind of saved me from everything, you know. And also, you know, people came to me and helped ask me to do their homework and things like that because I w I I was quite a bright lad. and I found out the other day that people with sight loss do have what is known as the genius gene. because our hippocampus has a great memory. So memory gene and sight loss is key. So your listeners, if you're listening and you've got sight loss, you are part of the genius clan.
Hayley Sightlines: so sight loss is accompanied with excellent memory.
Clarke: Exactly. It's something to do I I mean, I'm not a brain surgeon, but I was at an event the other day and there was a proper medical state team there and they were talking about it and studies have have said that, you know, the hippocampus, which is our memory gland, is over enlarged, overworking with people with sight loss.
Hayley Sightlines: that sounds extremely, extremely useful. Maybe that explains why I memorise things slightly more quickly.
Clarke: That's it. And same as it. Like I learnt Broil in three weeks. I I know I
Hayley Sightlines: Wow.
Clarke: know my my roots. So once I know one root, I n I instantly remember it back. so I'm like I'm like an elephant, never forgets.
Hayley Sightlines: I think it's amazing how I think blind people can just kind of mentally map out their roots and memorize so many things. Often people who are not visually impaired approach me and just say, how can you walk independently? Sometimes it's just incredible in their eyes, I guess, to see us navigating by ourselves because we remember, we've learned the roots and actually becoming independent ourselves.
Clarke: That's it, th that's the key, yeah.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, so moving on to your career, can you tell us about your career path and what led you to your current profession?
Clarke: So, like I said, I always wanted to be an artist. Nothing's changed. So, but I thought I'd get a skill base behind me, which was a degree in model making. My aim was to become a production designer in movies and films. I'm a huge film fan. 6,000 DVDs, you know, tattoos. I did my dissertation in Star Wars, which is great. But things never panned out. I finally get a job using my degree, which was dental model making, which is fascinating. but when I was eighteen months when I told to was going blind, I had to give that up. But I remembered I'm gonna be the artist I wanna be from the age of six. And now like I said, you know, my art has a purpose. I'm inspiring VI children across the world to be creatives. I'm going into schools and I'm teaching kids about sight loss through the use of braille. And I've worked hard with many solo exhibitions across the country, internationally, you know, to bring my kind of form of art to to to the forefront, you know. And like I said, I'm the lead and brown artist in the world, which I've left a legacy, which is amazing.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes, definitely. Especially when your dream ever since 6th of becoming an artist has become true and you're so successful in it. But also just sharing your story to everyone else is also very amazing. who or what inspired you most do you think in your life?
Clarke: that's so I haven't got a fanny to inspire me. I inspire myself, yeah. I always push the boundaries. I always wanted to be better than what society tells me what I can be. I mean inspired by the one of the first artists that I was really inspired by was an artist called Fran Mark Franz Mark, who painted a picture called or painted called the Yellow Cow. Now when you're growing up and you're you you're drawing cows, you usually go draw cows that are black with white spotches or reverse white with black spotches. But when you see an artist painting a cow that is bright yellow with purple splotches, you know, there is no rules in art. And that was what really inspired me to become a creative.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, think braille is also so creative in art. So there are no rules, as you mentioned, in art. And especially when you align creativity in art with the braille, it's like combining two things that are, I guess, different and out of the box together to make such an amazing journey and career.
Clarke: Well what I like about Braille is it's organic but structured. You know, you know every time you do a piece of artwork because of the n of our words and the and the mech necklace spaces happen, each piece is different. But it's structured because you have to conform to that six dot cell, which I love and it makes perfect sense for me. Structured and chaos you what I said about chaos? There you go. There's the chaos.
Hayley Sightlines: I'm just out of curiosity. How do you have color coded bra? How do you identify which color is which?
Clarke: Right, so my colour coded braille took me a month to figure out. so just as the painter uses paints a landscape or portrait, yeah, y they use what you know is known as colour theory. So I took that and I looked at the commonalities as letters appearing in words and used colour theory. So the idea is for someone's site will start to learn to read braille because it's a pattern, just like letters. A is a is a pattern, it's just that we give it a letter. You know, so if I said to you my A in my colour coded braille is bright yellow, you know. People will see bright yellow in my art pieces and before you know it, they'll start to learn braille because the way the colours react to each other. So I'm painting in words as a painter paints a picture or you know, landscape or portrait.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes. Moving on then, what is one challenge, turning point or defining moment that helps shape who you are today?
Clarke: I I think the biggest turning point is when I've been told multiple times, isn't it nice you've got a hobby. Right? I got a degree, I was and I was an artist for Lossel site. What changed when I picked that white cane up? What changed? Nothing changed. So that's what really spurs me on. You know, I have ambitions to exhibit at the the Miami Basel, you know. I I mean your listeners will will find out I'm about to be the first line person for the British Council. To become a fellow at the Venice Biennale. So Mr. Dott is off to Venice for a whole month. I mean, if that's not an accolade, I don't know what is.
Hayley Sightlines: That is truly inspirational and an amazing achievement. did everyone, was there ever a time when someone doubted your goals, abilities or dreams? And how did that affect you? And how did you move forwards?
Clarke: every day, every day I work twice as hard as any mainstream artists call it because i in in our world, in society, what I do is a hobby. So I have to prove myself every day. and the knockbacks it what I find i is the the idea of lived experiences. It's been thrown around a lot lately, the idea of lived experiences, but organisations are take advantage of lived experiences. The idea that we work for free because we're lived experiences. And I think that needs to stop, you know. I I've got the skills, I've got lived experiences, but you need to pay me. And I strive to knock down that barrier that lived experience just means volunteering and working for free. and and there's multiple times that I've been told no. You know, my my children's book, I was told no, you can't make a braille book for every child will braille. Guess what? Mr. Dot did that. You know? So for me it is about just every day breaking down that barrier because I can't be the only one. I You know, I want to have a world where the future VI children are growing up and creatives and following my footsteps of Mr. Doc.
Hayley Sightlines: personal qualities or characteristics have helped you become the person you are today.
Clarke: I we started off with those three words and those characteristics d run through me determination, creativity and chaos. Because chaos is the idea of putting a spanner in the works and telling these people that they've been doing things for such a long time, i.e. order, description, and how we how we see tactile art in galleries and how we how do we talk about art. No, it needs to change, you know. We're we're a creative s society, so it it is in my DNA to ruffle a few feathers along the way and I'm excited about that because we can't all do the exact same for blind people generation after generation. Things need to change and Mr Dot is making things change.
Hayley Sightlines: What is something about you, for example an unexpected hobby, talent, interest or a personality trait that people might not expect?
Clarke: So I'm a huge Lego fan. I love my Lego. It doesn't matter if I can't see. me and my partner make the big ones and we have our own or kind of like all their descriptions are little pieces look like telephones or cheeses we have all that. if I am doing a Lego P puzzle that I can't do, I've got my phone, I zoom in, there's apps now that will help me. And obviously, there's the app Be My Eyes, which is an amazing app. And obviously, people people don't know, I'm the first blind person in the world to run a marathon using smart technology. So that is in my locker now.
Hayley Sightlines: think adding on to all your artistic and creative works, running a marathon itself is a hard feat and using meta glasses is just extraordinary. It shows how technology is developed and how blind people are individuals who can achieve unique and just truly amazing achievements by themselves.
Clarke: It's true, it's true. And the idea, you know, the technology, we talk about bad bad about AI. But AI is giving us a voice. You know, I I'm not being patronised. I can go to a gallery and ask it to describe the art and and it's getting a more emotional response instead of being told it's six foot by four foot and things like that. It's it's giving it's giving me my independence in an environment where you're supposed to be kind of ushered in a way. So I'm really excited to where the AI technology takes me in my creative journey as well.
Hayley Sightlines: So what is one public misconception about blind or visually impaired people that you would most like to challenge?
Clarke: That the idea that every blind b if you're registered blind you see complete darkness. You know, and I think that's a misconception that T V has over the years manipulated. The idea that if you're blind it's dark. It's like wearing a a a you know, a blindfold over your eyes. That's not the case, you know, ninety three percent of blind people see. We all see differently, every person is a different fingerprint. You know, today, you know, it's a love sunny day, my eyes are warmed up so I've got a bit more sight than I did. the other day when it was gloomy and rainy. and I think you know the idea obviously being an artist is an oxymoron. So straight away people don't realise how can a blind person do these things. You know? I do because I have jigs, I have memory. I I cr I I know what I'm doing because I have pr I prep myself to the point where I you know and I work one dot at time, which is brilliant. It's kinda like how I see the world. One dot at a time.
Hayley Sightlines: How do you personally advocate for accessibility and inclusion for people with visual impairment in your community, school, workplace or field?
Clarke: So obviously my field is straight away breaking down the barriers, you know. And we talked about, you know, schools reaching across far and wide from New Zealand to Basel to India, now Romania. I'm leaving a legacy. So when people are are searching for tactile art, they come straight to me. and then I go to I'm an ambassador for a major charity called Fight for Sight. And now a patient for charity called Victor. And in America, I'm a an ambassador for Thrive and Blind Academy, which is people like myself who are thriving and under blindness, not just moping around on a sofa.
Hayley Sightlines: What advice would you give to other visually impaired young people who are facing uncertainty, exclusion or a major challenge?
Clarke: I I mean I always say to them, right, just follow your dreams, you know. Society tells us what we can and can't do. Right? The only illegal thing we can't do, right, is is drive a car, right, on a public road. Right? But do you know what we can do? A blind person can't get a pirate's licence. So I always say, reach for the stars. Literally. We can reach for the stars and push back on what society tells us what we can and cannot do.
Hayley Sightlines: Leading on to that, what advice would you give to the general public about how to better understand, support and include visually impaired people?
Clarke: I I especially in my field, the idea that I'm disabled artists that I can't exhibit alongside s alongside mainstream art. You know, why can't I have an exhibition alongside Damien Hurst? His dots are my dots, you know, that that's the key. Once that happens, you know, my goal was set, you know, and and we'd open the floodgates for integration. You know, I think the best example and the best analogy is disabled sports. We don't look upon disabled athletes as disabled athletes because of the ma how they're integrated into society, just like the Commonwealth Games. You know, they're not disabled athletes, they're al athletes in their own right. So the idea is that I'm an artist in my own right, not a disabled artist, and that's really key.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes and thank you so much for speaking with me today Mr. Dhar. It's been a pleasure.
Clarke: No, thank you.
Hayley Sightlines: Thank you.
Hayley Sightlines: So to begin, could you share a few basic details about yourself for the archive, including your name, age, gender, if you would like to share, where you were born, where you currently live, and what languages you speak?
Clarke: Okay, my name is Clark Reynolds, AK Mr Dot, age forty five male, born in Plymouth, which is a navy town, and now currently reside in Portsmouth.
Hayley Sightlines: Great, thank you. And how would you describe your visual impairment? For instance, could you share a little about your visual impairment if you feel comfortable? In particular, when did your visual impairment begin? And what was the cause? Was it something you were born with or something that developed later?
Clarke: So how I see it's it's like looking underwater. and every day is a new day, depending on light conditions, depending on where I am. And it's like being born again every day. And my eyesight started the t well, I started at a young age at the age of six. So from four to six, I was up the hospital every four weeks with scans and drops. And so I was registered blind in one eye from the age of six and that's my right eye. went into education, you know, didn't think I was blind and then thirteen years ago I was given a diagnosis that I was losing my sight in my other eye. for me because I have a creative, I don't really think I don't you see if your you have your brain, not your eyes. So it's not really my god, I wake in the morning, my blind. 'Cause You know, the idea that I I see my brain and it is it as an artist it's it's really helped me well, come over the fact that I am restored blind.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, that's a really, really insightful perspective, I think. Personally, I became blind as well when I was six. Well, started, my vision started to deteriorate, yeah. Okay, so leading on to that, what three words would you use to describe yourself?
Clarke: Determination, creative and chaos.
Hayley Sightlines: I think you're definitely very inspiring as well, if I could just add.
Clarke: I received a most amazing lovely email from a school in Romania, a British led school, who their year fives have created art inspired by my art to raise funds for a local sight loss charity.
Hayley Sightlines: Well that is I so amazing to have other children be inspired by you and raise money, like raise funds for charities. That is such a great opportunity for them to learn more about inclusivity, especially in art, where I think often blind people are kind of less, they participate less, especially.
Clarke: Yes, a and and you know, i it stems back from how blind people are back from like the fifties and sixties. What is art, what is what is creativity, and it's usually a lump of clay or basket weaving. That was the that was a done deal back then. You know, and the idea that someone like myself can compete in mainstream art is unheard of. you know, I've got some exciting projects that I'm doing one right now that I can't say too much, but I'm I'm sure this one will literally put me on the map.
Hayley Sightlines: I'll be so excited to hear more about it when it comes out, though.
Clarke: It will yeah from next week. That's the plan. Yeah.
Hayley Sightlines: I'll definitely keep an eye out then. So how would you say did your experience of visual impairment shape the way you grew up and understanding the world around you?
Clarke: It's so strange. We talked about how I see. So I usually say I used to see like a through a thousand dots, like pixelation. So when I closed my eye, when I was younger, you know those pixel the the the old fashioned pixelated images? I would see them clearly. And I was
Hayley Sightlines: Yes.
Clarke: fas I was fascinated with dots. So my i you know, back you know, my eyesight has made me who I am today, you know. I used to do lots of pointalism during school. Which is if
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah.
Clarke: your listeners are hearing is is the build up of dots upon dots upon dots to create an art piece. So
Hayley Sightlines: Yes.
Clarke: when I discovered Braille, it was a no brainer that I had to go blind to bring Braille to the masses and it was a I love it, I love who I am.
Hayley Sightlines: It just boosted you on the journey towards more creativity, didn't it?
Clarke: Yeah, and it it's a way of telling stories, you know, the idea that what how my artwork is, I can physically tell stories through touch and no other artist in the world is doing what I'm doing, which is unique. so I am the leading braille artist in the world.
Hayley Sightlines: you say your family responded to your visual impairment growing up? there any family?
Clarke: That is one yeah, that is what yeah. I mean, that's the hardest question of all. because I mean my dad was a a Navy dad, so the idea that I should have gone, followed these footsteps and joined the armed forces. And so he never really understood me as an artist. So he don't he never really understood me as a blind person. unfortunately he passed away a year ago, quite suddenly. so he's not he's not seen me progress to where I am today. my daughter we have a great relationship. I home educate my daughter and I see my daughter through our conversations. And you know, I like to be just treated normally. So my mates, you know, all my mates are sighted, you know, they don't treat me differently and that's the way I want to be treated. I'm not I'm there's no the difference between me and my friends is I've got a white cane and that's it. There's nothing wrong, you know, there's the idea of society that a blind person can't, you know, mingle and just be normal is wrong. You know, normality What is normality? No one's normal. So that's how I see the world.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, I think the world should definitely view people as more as individuals instead of labeled by their disability.
Clarke: That's right.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, so did your education take place in a mainstream school, a school specialized for blind and visually impaired students, or a combination of both? And how did that environment shape your learning experience, confidence and sense of belonging?
Clarke: So, back in my office, I'm only blinded one eye. So I was in a normal mainstream school, wore the patches. I I remember being put at the back of class so I wouldn't hurt anyone and no one would hurt me. That's my earliest memories. But I've gone through I left school at the age of fourteen due to other health problems actually. but like I said, that determination, which I said that word earlier. I you know, I got D VQ in art design, diploma in art design. Did a first year fine art, but I thought I'd get a skill page behind me. So I changed my degree to model making, which is quite ironic really when I don't know what a straight line looks like. so even though I use straight lines now, even though I can't see them, I have to rely on the instruments. So it's really strange to go into industry where straight lines are key. and so I really it was fascinating to do my degree. But like I say, I've lived my life, you I became a dental model maker, I drove, it wasn't until like say twelve thirteen years ago that the diagnosis that I lost everything. But say lose everything, to be fair, I've gained everything, you know. I I I love being blind, it's made me better person and a better artist.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes, I definitely agree. often find that certain things, certain talents that were hidden formally are now newly discovered when, for instance, your eyesight is lost.
Clarke: Yes. And like I said, the art, you know, I would never I've always done art with dots, but now those dots mean something. It and I I love that you we talk about inspiring schools, you know, thirty five thousand kids in the past four years from around the world has engaged with Mr. Dot and and asked questions and I've inspired them about Braille. So that's not too bad for someone who told you were told that art is a hobby because I've lost my sight.
Hayley Sightlines: think that is a tremendous achievement and it's so amazing to see so many people learn more about visual impairment and also how that links to art. It's definitely not talked about enough in the modern time.
Clarke: No, exactly. So and that's what Mr. Dot does. You know, Mr. Dot brings the the the enjoyment, the love of just being who I am. Doesn't matter the sight loss. When I go to the schools, you know, those kids and I always say to them, no matter what barriers they face in life, always hold on to your dreams. And that's the message from Mr. Dot.
Hayley Sightlines: And going back to school, what kinds of support or accommodations helped you succeed in school, work or daily life? For instance, were there any supports you wish had existed earlier?
Clarke: I I'm obviously a bit o lot older than a lot of visually impaired children, and teenagers now who get a lot of support. So back in the eighties, nineteen eighties, no one really talked about sight loss. It wasn't, you know, on the radar or what you know, most people took the mick out of you if we wore glasses. So there's not really much support. I mean, the support I had was f me as a person trying to break free from my society growing up in in a rough area. so it was always a way of breaking free. So, that question is I think geared to a younger audience. you know, the stigma attached to sight loss back in the eighties and nineties was was hard, you know. but like I say I just I didn't think I was I didn't think I was different, which is really important.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes, definitely. I think you should always see yourself and everyone else should see yourself as an individual, a unique person instead of labelled by their disability.
Clarke: That's right.
Hayley Sightlines: And how much connection would you say you had to the visual impaired community when you were younger and how has that changed over time?
Clarke: So I I knew no blind people when I was growing up. but the first thing I did was when I got that diagnosis and I lost everything, my job is like I I I need to, you know, I joined a a a blind sports team. I played bl professionally blind cricket for four years and it really did help me because, you know, we're all in the same boat. We're we're all playing cricket, we can't see the ball at certain times of the day. And I made some really good friends. and helped Helped me deal with who I am as a person. So those four years it really did ground me down to what is sight loss.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, leading on to the next question, do you think there were moments growing up when you felt excluded, misunderstood, or like you did not quite fit in? And how did that, how did you respond?
Clarke: I think the biggest thing, we just talked about the sport, right? Was I was never picked for first for any sports team. because obviously, you know, w wearing glasses, you know, they'd think, you know, you you're not gonna see the ball, you're not gonna see this. so it was really I think growing up and the art the art really kind of saved me from everything, you know. And also, you know, people came to me and helped ask me to do their homework and things like that because I w I I was quite a bright lad. and I found out the other day that people with sight loss do have what is known as the genius gene. because our hippocampus has a great memory. So memory gene and sight loss is key. So your listeners, if you're listening and you've got sight loss, you are part of the genius clan.
Hayley Sightlines: so sight loss is accompanied with excellent memory.
Clarke: Exactly. It's something to do I I mean, I'm not a brain surgeon, but I was at an event the other day and there was a proper medical state team there and they were talking about it and studies have have said that, you know, the hippocampus, which is our memory gland, is over enlarged, overworking with people with sight loss.
Hayley Sightlines: that sounds extremely, extremely useful. Maybe that explains why I memorise things slightly more quickly.
Clarke: That's it. And same as it. Like I learnt Broil in three weeks. I I know I
Hayley Sightlines: Wow.
Clarke: know my my roots. So once I know one root, I n I instantly remember it back. so I'm like I'm like an elephant, never forgets.
Hayley Sightlines: I think it's amazing how I think blind people can just kind of mentally map out their roots and memorize so many things. Often people who are not visually impaired approach me and just say, how can you walk independently? Sometimes it's just incredible in their eyes, I guess, to see us navigating by ourselves because we remember, we've learned the roots and actually becoming independent ourselves.
Clarke: That's it, th that's the key, yeah.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, so moving on to your career, can you tell us about your career path and what led you to your current profession?
Clarke: So, like I said, I always wanted to be an artist. Nothing's changed. So, but I thought I'd get a skill base behind me, which was a degree in model making. My aim was to become a production designer in movies and films. I'm a huge film fan. 6,000 DVDs, you know, tattoos. I did my dissertation in Star Wars, which is great. But things never panned out. I finally get a job using my degree, which was dental model making, which is fascinating. but when I was eighteen months when I told to was going blind, I had to give that up. But I remembered I'm gonna be the artist I wanna be from the age of six. And now like I said, you know, my art has a purpose. I'm inspiring VI children across the world to be creatives. I'm going into schools and I'm teaching kids about sight loss through the use of braille. And I've worked hard with many solo exhibitions across the country, internationally, you know, to bring my kind of form of art to to to the forefront, you know. And like I said, I'm the lead and brown artist in the world, which I've left a legacy, which is amazing.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes, definitely. Especially when your dream ever since 6th of becoming an artist has become true and you're so successful in it. But also just sharing your story to everyone else is also very amazing. who or what inspired you most do you think in your life?
Clarke: that's so I haven't got a fanny to inspire me. I inspire myself, yeah. I always push the boundaries. I always wanted to be better than what society tells me what I can be. I mean inspired by the one of the first artists that I was really inspired by was an artist called Fran Mark Franz Mark, who painted a picture called or painted called the Yellow Cow. Now when you're growing up and you're you you're drawing cows, you usually go draw cows that are black with white spotches or reverse white with black spotches. But when you see an artist painting a cow that is bright yellow with purple splotches, you know, there is no rules in art. And that was what really inspired me to become a creative.
Hayley Sightlines: Yeah, think braille is also so creative in art. So there are no rules, as you mentioned, in art. And especially when you align creativity in art with the braille, it's like combining two things that are, I guess, different and out of the box together to make such an amazing journey and career.
Clarke: Well what I like about Braille is it's organic but structured. You know, you know every time you do a piece of artwork because of the n of our words and the and the mech necklace spaces happen, each piece is different. But it's structured because you have to conform to that six dot cell, which I love and it makes perfect sense for me. Structured and chaos you what I said about chaos? There you go. There's the chaos.
Hayley Sightlines: I'm just out of curiosity. How do you have color coded bra? How do you identify which color is which?
Clarke: Right, so my colour coded braille took me a month to figure out. so just as the painter uses paints a landscape or portrait, yeah, y they use what you know is known as colour theory. So I took that and I looked at the commonalities as letters appearing in words and used colour theory. So the idea is for someone's site will start to learn to read braille because it's a pattern, just like letters. A is a is a pattern, it's just that we give it a letter. You know, so if I said to you my A in my colour coded braille is bright yellow, you know. People will see bright yellow in my art pieces and before you know it, they'll start to learn braille because the way the colours react to each other. So I'm painting in words as a painter paints a picture or you know, landscape or portrait.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes. Moving on then, what is one challenge, turning point or defining moment that helps shape who you are today?
Clarke: I I think the biggest turning point is when I've been told multiple times, isn't it nice you've got a hobby. Right? I got a degree, I was and I was an artist for Lossel site. What changed when I picked that white cane up? What changed? Nothing changed. So that's what really spurs me on. You know, I have ambitions to exhibit at the the Miami Basel, you know. I I mean your listeners will will find out I'm about to be the first line person for the British Council. To become a fellow at the Venice Biennale. So Mr. Dott is off to Venice for a whole month. I mean, if that's not an accolade, I don't know what is.
Hayley Sightlines: That is truly inspirational and an amazing achievement. did everyone, was there ever a time when someone doubted your goals, abilities or dreams? And how did that affect you? And how did you move forwards?
Clarke: every day, every day I work twice as hard as any mainstream artists call it because i in in our world, in society, what I do is a hobby. So I have to prove myself every day. and the knockbacks it what I find i is the the idea of lived experiences. It's been thrown around a lot lately, the idea of lived experiences, but organisations are take advantage of lived experiences. The idea that we work for free because we're lived experiences. And I think that needs to stop, you know. I I've got the skills, I've got lived experiences, but you need to pay me. And I strive to knock down that barrier that lived experience just means volunteering and working for free. and and there's multiple times that I've been told no. You know, my my children's book, I was told no, you can't make a braille book for every child will braille. Guess what? Mr. Dot did that. You know? So for me it is about just every day breaking down that barrier because I can't be the only one. I You know, I want to have a world where the future VI children are growing up and creatives and following my footsteps of Mr. Doc.
Hayley Sightlines: personal qualities or characteristics have helped you become the person you are today.
Clarke: I we started off with those three words and those characteristics d run through me determination, creativity and chaos. Because chaos is the idea of putting a spanner in the works and telling these people that they've been doing things for such a long time, i.e. order, description, and how we how we see tactile art in galleries and how we how do we talk about art. No, it needs to change, you know. We're we're a creative s society, so it it is in my DNA to ruffle a few feathers along the way and I'm excited about that because we can't all do the exact same for blind people generation after generation. Things need to change and Mr Dot is making things change.
Hayley Sightlines: What is something about you, for example an unexpected hobby, talent, interest or a personality trait that people might not expect?
Clarke: So I'm a huge Lego fan. I love my Lego. It doesn't matter if I can't see. me and my partner make the big ones and we have our own or kind of like all their descriptions are little pieces look like telephones or cheeses we have all that. if I am doing a Lego P puzzle that I can't do, I've got my phone, I zoom in, there's apps now that will help me. And obviously, there's the app Be My Eyes, which is an amazing app. And obviously, people people don't know, I'm the first blind person in the world to run a marathon using smart technology. So that is in my locker now.
Hayley Sightlines: think adding on to all your artistic and creative works, running a marathon itself is a hard feat and using meta glasses is just extraordinary. It shows how technology is developed and how blind people are individuals who can achieve unique and just truly amazing achievements by themselves.
Clarke: It's true, it's true. And the idea, you know, the technology, we talk about bad bad about AI. But AI is giving us a voice. You know, I I'm not being patronised. I can go to a gallery and ask it to describe the art and and it's getting a more emotional response instead of being told it's six foot by four foot and things like that. It's it's giving it's giving me my independence in an environment where you're supposed to be kind of ushered in a way. So I'm really excited to where the AI technology takes me in my creative journey as well.
Hayley Sightlines: So what is one public misconception about blind or visually impaired people that you would most like to challenge?
Clarke: That the idea that every blind b if you're registered blind you see complete darkness. You know, and I think that's a misconception that T V has over the years manipulated. The idea that if you're blind it's dark. It's like wearing a a a you know, a blindfold over your eyes. That's not the case, you know, ninety three percent of blind people see. We all see differently, every person is a different fingerprint. You know, today, you know, it's a love sunny day, my eyes are warmed up so I've got a bit more sight than I did. the other day when it was gloomy and rainy. and I think you know the idea obviously being an artist is an oxymoron. So straight away people don't realise how can a blind person do these things. You know? I do because I have jigs, I have memory. I I cr I I know what I'm doing because I have pr I prep myself to the point where I you know and I work one dot at time, which is brilliant. It's kinda like how I see the world. One dot at a time.
Hayley Sightlines: How do you personally advocate for accessibility and inclusion for people with visual impairment in your community, school, workplace or field?
Clarke: So obviously my field is straight away breaking down the barriers, you know. And we talked about, you know, schools reaching across far and wide from New Zealand to Basel to India, now Romania. I'm leaving a legacy. So when people are are searching for tactile art, they come straight to me. and then I go to I'm an ambassador for a major charity called Fight for Sight. And now a patient for charity called Victor. And in America, I'm a an ambassador for Thrive and Blind Academy, which is people like myself who are thriving and under blindness, not just moping around on a sofa.
Hayley Sightlines: What advice would you give to other visually impaired young people who are facing uncertainty, exclusion or a major challenge?
Clarke: I I mean I always say to them, right, just follow your dreams, you know. Society tells us what we can and can't do. Right? The only illegal thing we can't do, right, is is drive a car, right, on a public road. Right? But do you know what we can do? A blind person can't get a pirate's licence. So I always say, reach for the stars. Literally. We can reach for the stars and push back on what society tells us what we can and cannot do.
Hayley Sightlines: Leading on to that, what advice would you give to the general public about how to better understand, support and include visually impaired people?
Clarke: I I especially in my field, the idea that I'm disabled artists that I can't exhibit alongside s alongside mainstream art. You know, why can't I have an exhibition alongside Damien Hurst? His dots are my dots, you know, that that's the key. Once that happens, you know, my goal was set, you know, and and we'd open the floodgates for integration. You know, I think the best example and the best analogy is disabled sports. We don't look upon disabled athletes as disabled athletes because of the ma how they're integrated into society, just like the Commonwealth Games. You know, they're not disabled athletes, they're al athletes in their own right. So the idea is that I'm an artist in my own right, not a disabled artist, and that's really key.
Hayley Sightlines: Yes and thank you so much for speaking with me today Mr. Dhar. It's been a pleasure.
Clarke: No, thank you.
Hayley Sightlines: Thank you.
