Emma Fearon: Why I curated ‘The Art of Signing Hands: A Bilingual Exhibition’ in Exeter

Photo above: Louise Stern, Laura, God, 2020. Courtesy the artist and s[edition] (Photo credit: Steven Fisher)

I am a CODA and have been very lucky to be blessed with parents that let me chase whatever aspirations I may have, whether that be in the form of them trying to stay awake at my orchestra rehearsals or letting me drone on and on about art in every gallery I possibly could.

However, art became the ultimate labour of love for me, leading to my BA to be Art History and Visual Culture.  I have always used art to engage with political struggles.

Consequently, in my second year I began to research Deaf Visualisation Image Art (De’VIA).

I sent paintings to my parents and asked them what they made of it. It led to complex and sometimes painful conversations but also a new love for a genre of art.

Thus, when I went on to do my MA in International Contemporary Art: Curation and Business and was given the chance to deliver a project, it was obvious which path I wanted to take.

I began with a clear idea about celebrating the amazing work of BSL Act Now and focusing on the beauty of Sign Language.

I wanted the exhibition to be entirely bilingual with the wall texts all in BSL and in an environment that considerate of the community it wanted to represent. In complete honesty, I just wanted a gallery space my parents would feel good in. 

I supposed the project also comes from the CODA instinct to explain your homelife to all the probing questions from the hearing world.

I don’t think I was particularly bad at answering the questions (hurtful or not), but there were so many more talented people who could explain or display the community in much more interesting or artistic format.

Hence, the joy of this project was bringing together the incredible artistic presences of Nancy Rourke, Lousie Stern and Chella Man. 

I had expected this project to be tough to deliver, with many hurdles and challenges. However, at this early stage I have already worked with my favourite artists, that just this time last year I was writing my dissertation on.

Each artist has been a pleasure and my nerves of the opening night (Deaf Pub Night) are compensated by the excitement of working with the Deaf Academy to help deliver a window display for the exhibition. 

Of course, exhibition making isn’t the easiest process but it has certainly been the most fulfilling thing I could have done. After moving out from home and moving away from that Deaf environment, it has been a complete pleasure to recreate a small piece of that home for myself in Exeter.

By Emma Fearon.

The dates for the exhibition are 11-19th June 2022, 12pm-5pm. Deaf Pub Night/ Private viewing is 10th June 2022 7pm-10pm at:

MakeTank,
3-5 Paris Street,
Exeter EX4 4NW

For more information go to: https://nowsthetime.art/the-art-of-signing-hands-a-bilingual-exhibition