Language is the only homeland
ongoing
Language and culture are interrelated. According to the linguistic relativity principle, the way in which we think about the world is directly influenced by the language system we use to speak about it. What kind of complex processes evolve when this language is visual? There seemed to be a long history of controversy over spoken versus visual language, and between those who recognize deafness as a disability and those who saw it as a cultural and linguistic minority and difference in the human experience. (If the culture is rooted in language, one should look at deafness as a cultural identity). I’m currently exploring how visual research through photography can help better understanding complexities of the Deaf culture and hard-of-hearing being in the world and in which way that understanding might contribute to visual literacy and equalize power imbalances caused by linguistic difference.
