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28 Days in February Project

Two Sides

Two Sides 16 inch by 20 inch oil on stretched canvas SOLD click on image.

Description about the painting:

Day 12 of 28 Days in February Project

I am inspired by Frida Kahlo's Two Fridas. This concept is based on one Deaf girl with two different identities. When her parents found out she was born deaf, she had her first cochlear implant at the age of 21 months. Her parents worked hard to teach her how to speak and listen and not to use sign language. They tell friends and relatives that their daughter is 'hearing.' When the deaf girl entered high school, this was where she was struggling to find her own identity. One side of her, shows a cochlear implant device on her lap. She took her device off, to show everyone what it looks like. She has blue tapes wrapped around her hand, to show that she was to keep her hands down and not to use sign language. Her dress shows AUDISM as in blue and black colours. This means that, a Deaf baby turned into a 'hearing' baby by wearing a cochlear implant and raised her as a deaf oral, shows a gross violation of human rights. On the other side of her, is her own Deaf human being, who knows her identity by heart, a big D letter on her heart, instead of a little d. Big D represents Culturally Deaf and little d represents a medical term for oral deaf. She has blue tapes on her mouth and ears, meaning power, she is Deaf and prefers to use sign language. The holding hand motif represents 'embracing each other', knowing one is abusive and another is fighting and to maintain her own rights.
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Nancy Rourke all paintings are copyrighted. 2001-2020
Last updated October 28, 2020