The Story of my world
2020. Glazed ceramic, each approximately 9 x 5 x 3 inches.
This work references Hafizirad’s journey as a Deaf adult into signed language after a childhood in which she was trained to communicate through oral and aural language. In Hafizirad’s narration of the meaning of the piece, she describes the gold plating on some of the fingers of the hands as referencing the preciousness and magic of signed communication. Her journey of coming to signed language as an adult describes one that many deaf people raised with oral education go through. The myriad shapes of the ceramic hands are set in relief of negative space. The property of ceramic – at once solid and delicate – seems to suggest the fleeting nature of language, and its persistent ways of staying with us. The work, understood here in the context of Crip Ritual, suggests that accessing the deaf community through signed language is a ritual process that carries Hafizirad into a new life phase.
Hafizirad further shares:
“Deaf people have vibrant colourful lives expressed through our signing. When you enter a room and see the flurry of signs – that is our colourful life. Growing up in Iran I was forbidden to sign and raised orally. When I moved to Canada I was exposed to American Sign Language and became immersed in the sign language of my people and found my identity as a Deaf women. Now I am in the centre of my vibrant community. I wish others to see what I see – the richness and beauty of our signs and lives.”
This work references Hafizirad’s journey as a Deaf adult into signed language after a childhood in which she was trained to communicate through oral and aural language. In Hafizirad’s narration of the meaning of the piece, she describes the gold plating on some of the fingers of the hands as referencing the preciousness and magic of signed communication. Her journey of coming to signed language as an adult describes one that many deaf people raised with oral education go through. The myriad shapes of the ceramic hands are set in relief of negative space. The property of ceramic – at once solid and delicate – seems to suggest the fleeting nature of language, and its persistent ways of staying with us. The work, understood here in the context of Crip Ritual, suggests that accessing the deaf community through signed language is a ritual process that carries Hafizirad into a new life phase.
Hafizirad further shares:
“Deaf people have vibrant colourful lives expressed through our signing. When you enter a room and see the flurry of signs – that is our colourful life. Growing up in Iran I was forbidden to sign and raised orally. When I moved to Canada I was exposed to American Sign Language and became immersed in the sign language of my people and found my identity as a Deaf women. Now I am in the centre of my vibrant community. I wish others to see what I see – the richness and beauty of our signs and lives.”
