March 2015:
Disconnections – a personal perspective on hearing loss
Disconnections is a free, one-off multimedia exhibit that shares the experience of having a hearing loss with the public will be held on Thursday, 9 April at the HEARing Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).
In an Australian first, the Disconnections Multimedia Exhibition features two multimedia pieces created specifically to put people in the in the position of those with a hearing loss so they can experience first-hand the sensory deprivation and social isolation that comes with hearing loss.
Created by established media artist and academic Dr Trish Adams, Disconnections draws upon her personal experiences of hearing loss to create interactive artworks that demonstrate how hearing loss impacts on most aspects of living, particularly communication – something most people take for granted.
Dr Adams developed the project that led to Disconnections following a period of scientific research with Prof. Antonio Paolini at his ‘Sensory Lab’ at the Health Innovations Research Institute, RMIT University.
After this experience, Dr Adams moved into the artwork developmental phase in collaboration with RMIT University Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, Dr Jonathan Duckworth, and his CiART Team at the School of Media and Communication.
“This collaborative relationship with CiART was instrumental in providing the research expertise and knowledge essential in communicating and translating the complexities of art/science concepts through contemporary media art,” Dr Adams said.
For Disconnections, Dr Adams has developed two artworks that continue the narrative of sensorial community engagement. The first work called Inaudible City is a large-scale projection of video sequences that portrays Melbourne’s familiar urban landscape.
“As a severely hearing impaired artist, I consider myself well-placed to explore and expand upon the issues encountered by deaf people within the community.
My intention has been to design interactive artworks that give those with normal hearing some experiential understanding of what deafness FEELS like,” – Dr Trish Adams.
The second, called Fractured_Message, is a portrait-style video of a young man who the viewer cannot properly understand due to a soundtrack of inaudible and distorted speech.
Both works explore the frustration and unease of a hearing impaired pedestrian struggling to make sense of auditory aspects encountered in today’s urban environment.
Hosted by the HEARing CRC, Disconnections will be launched on Thursday, 9 April at The University of Melbourne’s Audiology, Hearing and Speech Sciences Building, 550 Swanston St, Carlton.
The exhibits officially opens at 5.30pm with a talk by audiologist and lecturer Dr Caitlin Grenness (The University of Melbourne) who will speak about new approaches in hearing healthcare that empower individuals in determining how they want their hearing loss managed.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its art funding and advisory body. The HEARing CRC is financially supported by the Cooperative Research Centres Programme – a Commonwealth Government Initiative.
For catering purposes, please RSVP glawrence@hearingcrc.org before 8 April 2015.
Disconnections is proudly supported by:
