The Language of Touch

Exhibition Title:

The Language of Touch: Braille Through Time

Location:

Cove Gallery, Weymouth, Dorset

Event:

Dorset Art Weeks

Date:

May–June 2021

Mr Dot, brought a thought-provoking and visually
captivating solo exhibition to Cove Gallery during Dorset
Art Weeks 2021. The exhibition, titled The Language of
Touch: Braille Through Time, invited audiences to explore
the poetic beauty and historical power of braille through
Clarke’s signature colour-coded dot system.

The centrepiece of the exhibition was a remarkable
translation of a William Wordsworth poem “Elegiac
Stanzas”, a piece that directory addresses the ship wreck his
brother passed away. Rendered entirely in braille. This
work blended heritage, language, and accessibility, using
Clarke’s unique colour-coded method that allows both blind
and sighted audiences to experience braille as both a tactile
and visual form.

The poem, lifted from the pages of literary history. The
meticulous dot placement recreated the quiet rhythm of the
verse, echoing both the gentle voice of Wordsworth and the
steady pulse of braille.

“To bring a historical
poem into a modern
visual language,
where braille
becomes art not just
access, is to give
blind history a new
page.” – Clarke
Reynolds

The show also featured companion pieces exploring the
evolution of braille, with Clarke’s commentary bridging
past and present—highlighting the importance of inclusive
literacy and the cultural legacy of the blind community.
Which included the Dorset flag with the historical

highlights included, which now resides in Weymouth

county council.

Visitors responded with emotional resonance and curiosity,
often seen tracing the dots with their fingers, immersed in
the meditative power of touch-based language.
Clarke’s work at Cove Gallery reaffirmed his position as a
pioneer in accessible art and storytelling—one dot, one
colour, one poem at a time.