DEAF MOSAIC
Isolation from wider society, as experienced by deaf people is something that I am often reminded of. In the college where I work there is a deaf unit and as well as it being usual to see people signing around the college, it also makes it more apparent that many deaf people are restricted in communicating with wider hearing society unless people are able to use sign language
Recently I came across this outdoor exhibition at Granary Square when visiting Central St Martins
To see the full range of pictures and find out more about this exhibition visit
Firstly I was struck by the location of this exhibition, which I think it hugely benefited from; instead of being hidden in a gallery it’s fore-fronted in a busy public space giving the opportunity for the Deaf community to have their documented lives and lived experience of deafness be visible to thousands of people, most of whom are general members of the public and may or may not be gallery goers. I was surprised to see a colleague as one of the featured people, and looking more closely I saw that the exhibition was done in collaboration with The City Lit, which is where I work.
Despite enjoying this exhibition I was saddened that I had not seen it at the college; perhaps because I have been off work and missed the show in the gallery, but even so it would only have been on show for a week . Necessary exhibitions like this, that broaden the inclusion of marginalised groups into the public sphere, need to be on view for an extended period. Given that The City Lit has such a large Deaf community, surely work like this could find a permanent public area of display, giving more visibility to marginalised groups that currently exist within the institution and actually creating an inclusive and diverse space for all