Cathy Mager: Lighting up Liverpool with the world’s largest sign language projection (BSL)

On a recent memorable night in Liverpool, my company Spectroscope staged the world’s largest sign language projection. The monumental projection illuminated the Cunard Building for Dada Fest International’s 40^th anniversary and international women’s day. It was such a proud moment.

Sign Night is a projection artwork I created in BSL. It is performed by Vilma Jackson and Sophie Stone. They portray the story of two deaf women, who share their dreams for the future as they look out over the night sky. Intriguing and sensual, the projected artwork begins with giant hands resembling ships at sea, rocked by waves. The sailing hands represent the lifelong voyage all deaf people must take, navigating discrimination in the hearing world.

The Cunard is one of Liverpool’s Three Graces, part of the iconic waterfront and famous for its nautical history as the original headquarters of the Cunard shipping line.

The Sign Night story began five years ago during the pandemic when I rediscovered my love of light projection. My neighbours let me project films onto their houses and it was beautiful seeing my street lit up with sign language art. I have always loved experimenting with light. In my late teens, when I was an art student I would create artworks using an old slide machines and video projectors and whatever light tech I could get my hands on! These projections would often use sign language or imagery related to my deaf identity. The tutor overseeing my work at University at the time was very critical and told me to stop making artwork about deafness because she felt it had a “limited audience”. It took me 20 years to reclaim my passion for light projection and prove her wrong.

In 2020 I was really inspired by Lynn Stewart-Taylor’s Where is the Interpreter campaign. I wanted to find a way to shine a light on the exclusion of deaf people during the pandemic through projection art. Thanks to BBC Arts, The Space and Unlimited I won funding to work with the incredibly talented deaf actors Vilma Jackson and Sophie Stone. I was so lucky to get to collaborate with two extraordinary performers on my first public projection experiment.

In July 2020, we created a huge sign language projection onto an old building in central Bristol which was later screened by the BBC. From that point onwards I was hooked and this motivated me to establish my company Spectroscope to form a collective of artists to create more building projections. Back in 2020, we were not allowed to have an in-person audience, but two years later in 2022, Bristol Light Festival re-staged the projection on to the Arnolfini, a beautiful historic building overlooking Bristol harbour. 180,000 people came down to see the artwork over the course of one week.  It was an emotional and powerful experience. What was striking was how universally appealing the artwork was.  The themes of love, isolation and escape touched people regardless of whether they knew sign language or not.

Since then, we have created projection artworks in Shanghai and London, and we have more in the pipeline internationally. I’m passionate and determined to create ambitious artworks that transform public spaces and bring deaf culture to new and unexpected places. Our artworks are always led by teams of deaf and disabled people, showcasing their excellence in design, performance and digital technology.  I hope that our artworks inspire other deaf people to dream big, to explore how deaf culture can transform cities and carry messages of hope that inspire change in society.

Cathy Mager is a deaf and Bristol-based artist and curator, specialising in immersive and monumental art installations in unusual spaces. She is founder and director of Spectroscope, an arts collective that has pioneered sign language projection mapping for the BBC, Bristol Light Festival, Science Gallery London and Shanghai Museum of Modern Art. Previously, she has directed public realm artworks and exhibitions for Bristol Beacon, Forestry England, Southbank Centre, Arts on the Underground.

Find out more at: www.spectroscope.co.uk and www.dadafest.co.uk

Photography by Charlie Swinbourne