[STOP DESTROYING OUR LANGUAGE]

Part of the SIGNS OF TIMES series.

A series of four hexagon plates, together “spelling” out the continued war on our sign languages and our deaf identities, which are intricately interwoven in our visual language.

Since 1880, there has been a sustained movement led by hearing people to eradicate sign language to assimilate deaf people into “normal” society. Those who fail the schooling are quietly brushed aside, to be tossed into the welfare system while the “successes” are touted as evidence of their biased pedagogy. Those hearing teachers collect their accolades, pat themselves on their back, proud of their charitable efforts towards the wretched hearing impaired children.

It is still happening today - deaf children who cannot access sound are still being pulled away from sign languages, forced to accept subpar language development with no agency or advocacy. Hearing professionals and influencers bastardise sign languages for their gain, from promoting “key signs” for hearing babies, to uploading incorrect signs and insisting “a friend who is deaf said it was okay”.

To spell it out again and again for hearing people: stop destroying our language