Living in silence

Penultimate Wednesday, the foyer of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja was besieged by guests, artists and art works assembled for the exhibition ‘Living in silence’ where the exhibitors are deafs. Organized by Dr. Anne Enyi, the exposition featured no less than 25 works of at least 20 artistes. They expressed their thoughts on what it feels […]

Penultimate Wednesday, the foyer of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja was besieged by guests, artists and art works assembled for the exhibition ‘Living in silence’ where the exhibitors are deafs. Organized by Dr. Anne Enyi, the exposition featured no less than 25 works of at least 20 artistes. They expressed their thoughts on what it feels like to be deaf in a society like Nigeria’s where they are mostly isolated.

Works of deaf and hearing artists were placed side by side as each one screamed out its discontent, ordeal and indifference associated with the life and the lifestyle of the deaf.

Enyi who is also the founder of Centre for Deaf Rights and Empowerment (CEDRE) is hearing impaired and said very little attention is given to those with this physical challenge in Nigeria. Though by no definition an artist in the conventional sense of the word, the public health doctor said art is a very instrumental tool to address such shortcomings of society, hence, the exhibition.

“More than 90 per cent of deaf people experience silence in their lives, because they are isolated and socially excluded from society in a lot of cases. I felt the need to highlight the fact that they are being excluded from services and the general public. I had to come up with a theme to help people appreciate to a reasonable extent what it means to be excluded,” she said.

According to the sexual reproductive health specialist, “I’ve focused a lot of my energy on setting up an NGO for deaf and hearing impaired people. The exhibition is my way of raising awareness on the issue of

“The exhibition for me is a way of getting all sorts of people together. Art is a language which cuts across all other languages, cultures, backgrounds.”
The works on first viewing may come across as not addressing the theme around which the exhibition is built. But on more indebt interaction with them, one sees how vividly they treat the exhibition’s theme ‘Living in silence’ like artist, Ndidi Amaefule’s ‘Into the walls’ expresses. Amaefule said, “‘Living in silence’ captured my interest as I had never imagined what a silent world would be like with the inability to truly sense the chaos of everyday life. To express oneself or communicate, how left out or alienated one would feel. My paintings express some of those feelings.

“‘Into the walls’ is basically about being in a crowded room and going unnoticed; the feeling of insignificance, present, yet almost invisible. Loud silence, amidst the hustle and bustle of the busy streets, transaction, noisy yet still, almost like a trance put the deaf in isolation. Empty world when all you hear is you, your inner voice overshadows all that you can’t hear. Burned encompasses the different feelings a deaf one would likely have; the feeling of loneliness and inability to communicate by virtue of not hearing.”

For artist  Ayuba Tete, participating at the exhibition means three things for him. “To exhibit at a location where people who matter and appreciate art can readily see the works and interact with them as well as share their views. Second, this is for a good course which should receive as much support as it can get. Third, it is good for his resumé because of how positive the experience has been. Above all this is not just an exhibition to raise awareness but to celebrate the courage of the deaf.
On if it would matter if his works were not sold, Tete said “being here for me is like a bonus. As an artist you would want for your works to get sold, but on this account, it’s not priority for me. I’m just happy to be a part of something that is positive and inspiring.”
Janet Taibat Mohammed who painted ‘Living in my own void and shame’,  said for her deafness is not a barrier to greatness. “Being deaf is not what makes me human. What makes me human is how I use my mental power to scale everyday life’s obstacles and how I improve my life. It isn’t finished until it is finished. In my deafness, I see ability.”
Art, according to Enyi, is very instrumental towards the kind of change she hopes to see happen with society’s attitude towards the hearing impaired. “For starters, I asked the hearing artists to imagine what it would feel like to be deaf. This way they could have a little bit of hearing loss. Their experiences are translated in the works presented here. This is the beginning of a change I believe will come in the attitude and reception of the deaf.”
The exhibition came to an end last Friday with a sizeable number of the works sold as they provoked more debates and raised questions on the plight of the hearing impaired.