‘SeeAbility have given my son the gift of sight’
Bermondsey played host to a Guinness World Record attempt when two artists were challenged by SeeAbility to have ‘The most participants featured on a live portrait installation in 48 hours’, and needed at least 800 people to turn up at Potters Fields Park to take part, writes Michael Holland.
SeeAbility is a national charity which supports people who have learning disabilities or autism, who may also have sight loss, and this Guinness World Record attempt was organised to raise awareness and funds for SeeAbility’s Special Schools Eye Care Service which provides eye tests and glasses to children in special schools in the south of England – There are around 28,000 children and young people in special schools across London alone and SeeAbility has ambitions to reach these children, estimating that half of them will have a problem with their vision and need glasses, yet over 4 in 10 of them will have never had a sight test or any eye care.
I went down on Day Two of the challenge and spoke to Luke Embden, a self-professed doodler, Muralist and Illustrator, who explained how Day One was an 11am – 9pm session in the heatwave.
At the other end of the 5m x 3m mural was Alex the Doodler, a 22 year old illustrator with a passion for creativity. Alex began doodling at thirteen to express himself as an autistic teenager.
After getting my photo taken on a camera that then printed it out, Polaroid-style, the SeeAbility member then placed the photo in one of the buckets next to the doodlers who would pick a photo out as soon as they had finished drawing one.
I could see that as the queue of excited record breakers got longer, and the buckets got filled up quicker, so the portraits had to be completed at a faster pace in order to beat the current world record. Quality lost out to quantity as the minutes ticked away. But, so that everyone who who took part could find themselves in the completed artwork, their initials were added to their likeness.
The Guinness World Records adjudicator was there, and as soon as the 800th person was checked in and their portrait completed, the record was broken, the clock was stopped, and the artists downed tools.
At the heart and centre of the finished mural is 20 year old Londoner Terence, whose life was dramatically changed for the better in March this year, thanks to SeeAbility’s Special Schools Eye Care team.
For 20 years, Terence, who is autistic and does not express himself verbally, saw only a blur. When SeeAbility’s eye care team first met him at his specialist college, he had never had a sight test or glasses. What they found was shocking. He was massively shortsighted with a prescription of minus 19.
This meant that without glasses, he could see no further than two inches (five cm) in front of his face. No one knew. He was not able to tell anyone.
In March this year when Terence received his first pair of glasses, which fully correct his vision, everything changed instantly. The world opened up — faces, spaces, and moments he had never seen before.
SeeAbility’s Director of Eye Care, Lisa Donaldson, who was at the event, says: “Terence is just one of the hundreds of thousands of people with learning disabilities who could be missing out on the vital eye care that we take for granted. I am sure that as we reach more and more schools, we’re going to find many more people just like him. We’re trying to get it right for the next generation, so no one else misses their whole education because they were never offered basic eye care.
“We are so grateful to every single person who showed up to be a part of our mural, helping us raise awareness and vital funds. We estimate that there are 800,000 people with learning disabilities of all ages in the UK who are living with sight problems, and up to half are missing the support they need. It really shows the scale of the issue, that every face on the mural represents 1000 people with learning disabilities who are living with a sight problem in the UK.”
Terence was not able to attend the event, but his photo was among the first to be illustrated onto the mural. Terence’s mum, Chantal Panzu, says: “When SeeAbility fitted Terence’s glasses I was so happy, I was in tears of joy! It was incredible, the way they worked with him, the care was amazing, they were so gentle. This is life-changing for Terence. With his glasses he can see the world clearly. He is smiling all the time! You can see so much difference in him. It is like a miracle, that’s the only way I can describe it. Without exaggeration, SeeAbility have given my son the gift of sight. I am so incredibly grateful.”
To find out more about SeeAbility’s campaign visit: https://www.seeability.org/moments-missed-moments-matter
