Michelle Destefano

Master of Contemporary Art

Blackboard! evolved from a series of performances that used my story of being a Deaf person who has experienced a form of oppression called ‘audism’ and forced ‘oralism’. Audism is the attitude of people who want Deaf people to speak and not use sign, or who ignore Deaf people’s communication needs. This installation work is informed by ongoing issues for the Deaf community, despite Auslan being our true and most accepted language. Blackboard! discusses the ‘Tickle Talker’, an electrical-shock device forced onto me from 1988 to 1991, to ‘help me learn to ‘hear’ through shocks to my fingers. This work advocates for decolonisation of the Deaf community through increased awareness of Deaf issues around access, audism and displacement of the Deaf community.