Decoding Braille, Decoding Me

Mr Dot launched his first solo exhibition titled Decoding Braille, Decoding Me, a vibrant and groundbreaking showcase that invites audiences to experience Braille in a way never seen —or felt—before. This powerful series introduced Reynolds’ pioneering colour-coded Braille system, designed to make Braille accessible not only to the visually impaired, but to everyone through a fusion of touch and sight.

The exhibition began its tour at Yellow Edge Gallery in Gosport, where Clarke debuted the concept of visually decoding language usually reserved for the fingers. Each piece allowed visitors to engage with Braille through vibrant colour combinations that represented letters and words. His work transforms flat communication into tactile, immersive artworks, engaging both blind and sighted visitors with equal resonance.

Among the standout pieces was “Oxymoron”, a striking canvas composed of coloured circular dots aligned across a precise grid. The title, fittingly ironic, captures the fusion of seeming contradictions—colour and blindness, vision and touch, abstraction and communication. The piece became a visual metaphor for Clarke’s artistic mission: to bridge two worlds that rarely intersect.

Following its success at Yellow Edge, the exhibition toured to The Base Gallery in Greenham, and continued on to Sense TouchBase Pears in Birmingham, a venue run by the national disability charity Sense, reflecting Clarke’s deep commitment to inclusion. The tour concluded at Quay Arts on the Isle of Wight, where the pieces drew both artistic acclaim and emotional responses from audiences who had never considered the expressive potential of Braille.

Decoding Braille, Decoding Me not only represents Clarke’s personal journey of identity and accessibility, but also challenges how we interpret language, art, and disability. Through colour, pattern, and texture, Clarke has reimagined Braille not as a barrier, but as a beautiful, universal form of communication.

This exhibition marked an essential milestone in Clarke Reynolds’ artistic journey and has laid the foundation for future collaborations, education, and advocacy through art.