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The Razzle B Photography blog can now be found at:

www.razzleb.ca/blog.  

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Walls That Speak

Throughout the semester the Advanced Visual Communications Students, myself included, have been putting together an individual collections for our spring photography exhibit.  It has been a very soul searching process for me as I created an art piece that portrays an issue very close to my heart. 

I worked collectively with some fantastic collaborators and models from the Being A Citizen Program at Lifetime Networks.  They all gave great insight and worked patiently with me as we worked together to create a meaningful and powerful art piece for the show.

CONTRA runs until April 14th at the Cedar Hill Rec Centre.  I hope you can find the time to pop by and check it out. 

Here is my artist statement...

THE RONG WORD

Words have power. 

They do not gain power by their definition.  The way we use words determines their effect and value.  They can lift us up, make us feel invincible, valued and loved.  They can also tear us down, take away our dignity, and make us feel alone.  The words we use to belittle ourselves and others often originate from things that make us uncomfortable or from ideas or concepts that we disrespect.

My piece examines the significance of the word “Retarded”. 

Retarded has historically been used as a diagnosis for people with disabilities.  Many adults with disabilities have heard the word used throughout their lives as a label that isolates, intimidates, and that devalues their place in society.

All of the individuals contributing to my exhibition piece have a personal connection to the hurt and anger surrounding the use of the word retarded.  Some have close family members or friends with disabilities.  Many have disabilities themselves. 

Exploring meanings of the word and their personal experiences surrounding its use brought some to tears and caused others to voice anger and frustration for the casual approach to its use in everyday language.   

I asked one question of everyone as we began to collaborate on the images for this piece. 

“What do you think of when you hear the word retarded?”

One simple answer is the motivation behind the images in my work.

“I think of me.”