Deaf artist Alex Orlov showcases work in Birmingham City Centre

Artist Alex Orlov, who has been deaf since birth, is exhibiting five of his paintings at the Community Hub on Level 4 of John Lewis & Partners at Birmingham’s New Street station, under the banner ‘Human Variety’.

The Community Hub is a space given free by the retailer to charities, community groups and other good causes. It’s used by more than 300 different organisations every year.

The artwork will be on display here throughout the month of November.

Alex, 39, who is also a freelance graphic designer, says: “It has been hugely exciting for me to create this great opportunity in partnership with such a big name as John Lewis. So I’m extremely grateful for this chance to show some of my work.

“I hope this will brighten the day of people in The Hub, and that people will enjoy my work.”

The Derby University graduate was born in Moscow, but moved to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv in 1990, at the age of just 10. After studying at the Jerusalem Academy of Art, he came to the UK for his university education, gaining a BA in Graphic Design. He then worked as an art director for various advertising agencies before managing his own art and design studio.

Alex has made Birmingham his home for the last five years after coming to the city to set up deaf communication support agency cSeeker with his brother Guy, who is also profoundly deaf, in 2014. He also runs EduStart, which helps smaller businesses through investment and mentoring.

It’s not the first time his work has been shown prominently. Alex, who has used a cochlear implant for about eight years, has previously shown his work at the Brick Lane Gallery in east London, and some of his paintings are also hung in private collections in Belgium, the USA and Israel.   

The pieces on show in Birmingham, with their bold primary colours, have the names Brixton Guy, Human Head (1 and 2), Fisherman and Last Meal. All are hung as landscapes (50 x 70cm), apart from ‘Last Meal’, which is a portrait style at 70cm x 50cm.

Alex adds: “As a graphic designer, I love creating digital art. But these posters started life as traditional media pieces. I’ve always enjoyed drawing and experimenting with techniques, and I’m sure I’ve tended to focus on the visual side of my life because of my hearing loss.

“My inspiration for this show came from my own life story and exploring multiple cultural identities, being deaf, an artist, Israeli, gay, a Moscow-born Jew, and so on. I don’t feel I am one of these more than any other. Nor does any one of those things define me completely. But all have the potential to be alienating experiences.

“The pictures can also show people in London as that’s where they were painted, with their endlessly fascinating variety of fashions, colours and shapes.”

The technique involves first painting using oils or gouache (a kind of paint that creates an opaque, watercolour effect) or pen. Then imagery is created digitally using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, as the originals are photographed and scanned, so that what viewers see at John Lewis are digital prints.

Alex adds: “I’ve been using this technique for a while, and it’s unique to me. It makes use of both old and new media.

“And I’ve deliberately used strong colours and brought these to the foreground of the work. It’s a way of uncovering the inner child, I guess. I’ve done this even though it doesn’t seem to be particularly fashionable to use strong colours in art and design in this country very much. In fact, the colours used in art that I see here often look very bleak to me! However, I’ve tried to combine the bold colouring with sensitive lines.

“The reality is that it’s not easy for me to communicate as a deaf man, so this is really my way of expressing myself – obviously it’s a visual form of expression.”

Shani Ellis, PR, Marketing and Community Liaison Coordinator at John Lewis Birmingham, said: “We were delighted to show Alex’s work and are committed to showcasing new art in The Hub.”

Previously, another deaf artist, Olivier Jamin, has also had pieces of art shown at the same location in Birmingham.

Anyone interested in buying any of the artworks can contact Alex on orlov.al@gmail.com or visit https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thefireman-blog

By Juliet England. Read more of Juliet’s articles for us here. Juliet England is a hearing-impaired freelance writer.