Deaf Dialogues in Motion

Dan Lain-lain

A series of conceptual montages created through long exposure photography. These montages capture the expressive movements of hands engaged in sign language, presenting a visual depiction of communication itself. Each composite artwork overlays various signs that are stitched together to form an excerpt from multiple deaf poetries, offering profound insights into the experiences and upbringing of the deaf community. Inspired by the structure of haiku poetry, this project presents the artworks in pairs—a narrative where one portrays the poet's struggle, while the other signifies a resolution they have reached. By providing a visual alternative, Deaf Dialogues in Motion aims to challenge our understanding of communication tools while shining a spotlight on the deaf community through these evocative montages.

As humans, our ability to access external information and process it to form perceptions is a defining characteristic. However, the universal right to access information equally is not always guaranteed. Communication, a fundamental tool for perception and understanding, is often taken for granted, and its importance is intensified when it becomes impaired. In such instances, do we lose our capacity to be fully human? I beg to differ.

The deaf community, facing the challenge of impaired hearing, developed sign language as a means to attain perception. Sign language, much like any other language used across different cultures and communities, possesses its own grammar, structure, and eloquence. In the hearing world, if the careful selection of words delivered with appropriate tone and manner have the power to move us intellectually and emotionally, so too can sign language. This variant of communication tool operates within a realm where perception manifests not through familiar auditory means, but through the expressive hand movements in space. This unique perspective on communication invites us to reevaluate our understanding of this fundamental aspect of human interaction.

Photography

Exhibited in:
Rock N' RIUH
Dec 2022

2022 - Present

Collaborators:
- Ter Fuankee
- MyBIM
- JUPEBIM


This project is a spiritual sequel to British Council's Empowering Deaf Women in Malaysia through Sign Poetry

...
Some who watch and make fun
Laughing loudly and looking down at me
I lose my self confidence
Feeling uncertain
Others get angry, annoyed and frustrated
Put your hands down, they scream
Engulfed in fear, I get agitated
I feel my hands tied
My voice silenced
...

Key to Deaf Identity
Ong Hwei Ling (Annie)

...
Realisation dawns,
Powerful, truthful words
Flames of passion died
My voice stifled
I break-free from tightening handcuffs
I get back my fearless voice
I am whole once more
My heart leaps with joy
I am living my life again.

...
A group of friends start chatting
I wanted to be a part of them
I want to converse too
But she tells me to wait as she chats with them
I waited and waited, Its seems like forever
In the end she types what they spoke
The whole conversation that I waited for eternity
Summarised in a few words
But it was such a long conversation
...

Deaf Journey
Wendy Ch’ng May Yee

...
Happily
I discover many things in the touch of a screen
Enlarging images, reading text messages
Interpreting, Live Video calls
Chatting and signing away
Typing on online chats
The amazing world of internet
We can send emails, We can sign live
My world is filled with colours
It has become brighter too
As colourful as rainbow
...

...
I am alone in my misery
Struggling and losing my grip
No support, no helping hand
Flowers began to lose their petals
Whenever I look at the mirror
I hate what I see
My image shatters to a thousand pieces
Engulfed by darkness
I live in my own world
With my own thoughts
...

Do Not Rape
Wong Sey Gin

...
A lady walks towards me
Don’t be afraid
Another person tells me not to be sad
Some spend time with me
A girl come up and says “We are the same”
Let’s get together
Together we lift each other up
I feel lively
Fragrant flowers bloom again
...

...
So one day I gave it a try
I pulled one leg up to climb over the wall
But my foot got caught in mamas eyes
So she brushed me off
And back to where I was before
I watched as mother proceeded to draw walls over walls after walls
As they grew higher and higher, my heart shrank sad and sadder
Until that day
One drop, then another drop fell
The walls grew so tall they punctured the sky
...

Walls
Dr. Anthony Alexander Chong Vee Yee

...
I began to wonder about what mama said
“Here i’d be safe. Here i’d be okay.”
Then why do these words keep weighing me down?
A hive of thoughts buzzed in my head
And i decided that today was the day
I pushed the walls with all my strength
I pushed and i pushed and the walls all fell
And crashed into a pandemonium of columns
...

...
I look inside me
Hurl away all the negativity
Those who said I have no future
I crumple the words, I flung away
Those who said I can’t do it, I push away
My spirit is lifted up
...

Empower Women
Anne Laura Benedict Raymond

...
I must be brave
I yearn to change
Am I lonely? No, I am not.
Are you lonely? You needn’t be.
You there…are you alone? Come with me
Come join us
We are comrades
Our combined passion
Fired up together
We, women, are all equal
...