Visually impaired artists explore scents - in pictures

Ian Reynolds, watercolour artist. Despite his sight gradually deteriorating, Reynolds worked as an art teacher for many years and has exhibited his work at various exhibitions across the UK. His work is an exploration of the emotional qualities of a landscape. He also uses a digital camera and magnifier to study scenes.
Photograph: RNIB

Rachel Gadsden is a successful contemporary British artist, who exhibits internationally and is registered visually impaired. During the gala evening she will create a large artwork that celebrates the shared experience of how fragrance stimulates our senses. Photograph: RNIB

Giovanni Coppola, photographer. Coppola travelled widely taking photographs before being registered blind. He believes his tunnel vision helps him focus on details that sighted people may not immediately appreciate. Photograph: Theodore Wood

Time is of the essence by David Johnson. Johnson has created a large black stalactite which descends from the ceiling to the floor, suggesting the airborne nature of fragrance and its relationship with time. Johnson has been completely blind since his mid-30s. He relies on his strong reflective association with visual experience and other sensory stimulation to create tactile installations.
Photograph: Theodore Wood

The Mask by Doreen Gibbons. Gibbons reflects on the saying 'The eyes are the windows to the soul', and questions when we lose the use of these precious portals, what we have left to represent our inner being? Is our face and everything written upon it merely a mask? Gibbons has been partially sighted since birth. She works as an art interpreter at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, and offers ceramic workshops to community groups. Photograph: RNIB