This is a painting that illustrates how audists have deeply victimized Deaf people, especially the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf. Showing an interaction between a hearing teacher and a Deaf child, the artwork evokes feelings of despair, anger, and pain. The Deaf child, with her hands chopped off, represents the destruction of natural language as a result of being forced to practice oralism. The American flag skirt symbolizes the current state of U.S. deaf education, while the black stars represent being rewarded with stars for the suppression of sign language. The red bubbles in her airway represent the years of painful speech therapy and the resulting gibberish. The fish represent deaf people’s ability to talk underwater with sign language, a recurring motif in my work. The red shapes on her chest are hearing aids. There are also many other symbols in this artwork that remind people of the long-lasting harm inflicted upon millions of Deaf children through the outright denial of sign language.
I will Never Forget no.1
- Oil painting 2012 size 16 x 12 in. SOLD