Object of the Month: July 2023

BLM x ASL

Merissa Hylton, 2020

Stonecast plaster, acrylic paint.

Purchased from the artist.

 

Disability awareness is about considering how we can work together to recognise and remove social and workplace barriers to create more inclusive environments for all.

Sign language is a visual language that uses hand shapes, facial expression, gestures and body language. There are around 300 sign languages in the world.

The hands in this sculpture spell ‘BLM’ in American Sign Language. ‘BLM’ stands for Black Lives Matter, a political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination and racial inequality experienced by black people.

The artist explores the use of sign language as a method of communication, as well as its limitations in the UK for people with physical disabilities such as herself, a woman with Amniotic Band Syndrome affecting the fingers on her right hand.

The Object of the Month can be seen in person throughout July at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.