Remembering Mr. Sacks...

(My social media cartoon tribute to Oliver Sacks, in 2015.)

Oliver Sacks (and his writing) has been a HUGE influence on my life, both as a person and a visual artist, for nearly thirty years. I first discovered him & his unique vision and voice when I was at art school in the late 80s/early 90s. "How could a man mistake his wife for a hat?" I thought. I was immediately, completely intrigued (and hooked), right from the first paragraph!

In January 2008, I saw on Oliver's website that he had gone blind in one eye. Being a huge fan of his published works, I sat in an internet cafe & wrote him a quick, short email (through his website). In it, I told him of my very own experiences with 'mono-vision' and how it affected my life & art career. But I never expected or imagined any more would come of my action.

So, try to imagine my delight, joy and complete surprise, when three months later I was sifting through bills from my letterbox... And I found this:

A hand-typed (!!) letter (complete with hand-scribbled notes throughout) from the man himself!!! To this day, I am still incredibly blown-away that Oliver took the time to write. TO ME!! And a real letter, sent in the mail, no less!!!

Mr Sacks sadly left this earth four years ago this week. But I'd like to have a chance (albeit, a little late) to say: "Thank you, so, so much, Oliver!!" For the ongoing inspiration... And your wonderful, rare intelligence, humility, compassion, intuition & generosity that you showed (and shared), in both your spirit & creativity. There are so, so many millions of people that you've touched & affected through your life's work (all over the globe)... In your lifetime, and beyond!! Thank you, for taking the time to write to me. And together, for us to briefly connect over our shared experience of sight-loss & its consequence.

"Language, that most human invention,

can enable what, in principle, should not be possible.

It can allow all of us, even the congenitally blind,

to see with another person’s eyes."

(Oliver Sacks)

(This blog entry originally appeared as a Facebook post on 31/8/2019.)