Press Release

Fractured Vision

Fractured Vision is an exhibition from registered charity The Eye Fund, featuring a newly released range of graphic designs from Simon Sherry, whose premature passing at just 39 years of age gave rise to this effective and supportive charity.

Simon’s designs are complemented by an incredible range of work from degree students at Wirral Met College, their lecturers (some of whom are professional artists in their own right), as well as volunteers and patrons of Ashville Lodge amongst others.

When is it?

From 22nd to 28th November 2010 between 10:00am to 4:00pm. The official opening is at 4-6pm on Monday November 22nd, by invitation only. Admission after that point will be free.

Where is it?

To be held at The Gallery, Birkenhead Park, Wirral, CH41 4HY.

Who is involved?

Fractured Vision will be opened by Mike McCartney, Patron of The Eye Fund and ambassador for the Wirral.

Why is this happening?

The primary reason for the exhibition is to raise awareness of The Eye Fund and the work that they do. Money raised by the charity pays for counselling and practical help to people who are losing their vision and for whom there can be no further treatment. Currently support is available for patients of Arrowe Park Eye Clinic, including those frequenting Ashville Lodge on the Wirral, and St. Paul’s Eye Hospital in Liverpool.

The exhibition will celebrate the incredible £50,000 raised in just three years by this dedicated group!

Presentations will be made of £9000 to St. Paul’s Eye Hospital and of a specially prepared voice activated computer for a local lady with visual impairment.

Contact

Contact Paul or Carol Sherry for further information on pj.sherry@gmail.com or 0151 670 1679.

Background

Simon Sherry died at the age of 39 from symptoms surrounding Retinal Cone Dystrophy, a condition in which his vision was becoming more and more fractured, hence the exhibition title: “Fractured Vision”. As a graphic designer, Simon expressed his increasing frustrations through his abstract designs, many of which use the eye as a starting point. It is these designs that Trustees of The Eye Fund are using to turn their loss into something extremely productive.

The Eye Fund began their fundraising mission with the production of a 2008 calendar featuring twelve of Simon’s most startling images. They were very fortunate to secure the support of Sir Paul McCartney, who wrote:

“This calendar celebrates the life of my second cousin Simon. He was an extremely talented guy as this calendar proves and his talents extend beyond art to music, where he was an accomplished bassist and keyboardist. He is sorely missed by all of us who knew and loved him but I for one will never forget his smiling face and all of us in the family will cherish his memory forever.”

Sales from this calendar alone helped to realise £2,500 and formed a very solid foundation for the charity’s future work.

Trustees of The Eye Fund are determined that they carefully monitor exactly how their donations are spent and so will only work with organisations that permit their donations to be specifically ring fenced for this purpose. This way, they, and you, can be sure that your donation is wisely spent. Whilst their primary purpose is to fund counselling, they are always open to requests from individuals who may require a specific tool or gadget to help make their day–to–day life as trouble free as possible. Trustees available at the exhibition will be glad to talk more about examples that they have recently purchased.

Please do contact Carol or Paul in advance if you require any further information, or of course speak with any of the Trustees present at the launch of Fractured Vision.