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Deaf Community Against Mainstream Political represents the reality faced by deaf people. Its bold typography is inspired by things like subtitles and captions that allow deaf people to access culture and society. The cardboard protest signs evoke the history of disability rights demonstrations – such as those captured by Keith Armstrong and shown in this exhibition.

Through this micro-protest piece, Zoe aims to educate and raise awareness about the barriers to access experienced by deaf people, such as negative assumptions made by mainstream hearing society, inaccessible public services, or shortages and unavailability of BSL interpreters. The bright colours and bold texts are intended to capture the energy and dynamism of British Sign Language, which uses facial expressions and body language - in addition to signs - to convey meaning and emotion.

You might find signs which mention the BSL Act, which was passed by the UK Government in 2022, legally recognising British Sign Language as an official language in England, Scotland and Wales. The protest goes on, however, through this work and beyond: there are still improvements and changes to be made to grant equality to deaf people and end the discrimination they face in society.

BSL

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