SeeAbility breaks Guinness World Record

Working on the record-breaking mural

National charity SeeAbility has achieved a Guinness World Record title for ‘Most participants featured on a live portrait installation in 48 hours’.

The challenge, which involved creating a live portrait installation in Potters Fields Park, next to Tower Bridge, was taken on “to shine a light on the tens of thousands of children and young people in London’s special schools who are missing out on basic eyecare and glasses” – said the charity.

To achieve the world record, 800 people were needed – one person for every 1,000 of the 800,000 people of all ages with learning disabilities UK-wide who SeeAbility estimates are currently living with a sight problem.

Londoners rose to the challenge, and each participant had a polaroid portrait photograph taken. This was then illustrated live in the park onto a mural by London-based artists Luke Embden, a renowned mural artist, and 22-year-old Alex the Doodler, who began doodling aged 13 to express himself as an autistic teenager.

Terence after being fitted with his spectacles

The number of illustrations in the finished mural was exactly 800 with an adjudicator from Guinness World Records present to make it official.

The world record title attempt was organised to raise awareness and funds for SeeAbility’s Special Schools Eye Care Service, which provides sight tests and glasses to children in special schools in the south of England, and as part of the charity’s ‘From moments missed to moments that matter’ campaign.

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. Learn more about Terence’s story.

SeeAbility’s director of eyecare, Lisa Donaldson, who was at the event, said: “Terence is just one of the hundreds of thousands of people with learning disabilities who could be missing out on the vital eyecare 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 eyecare.

“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. Among those also featured in the mural was SeeAbility’s senior dispensing optician and dispensing team lead, Martyn Howlett, who fitted Terence’s life-changing spectacles.

Visit the SeeAbility website for more information about its services and campaigns.