together or apart, get an insight into sign language.
The chosen site in the Old City of Jaffa is a vacant space that is currently not in use. It is located next to a theatre run by blind and deaf artists. Appropriate use of the public space in front of the theatre is to create awareness for people with disabilities, to draw attention to the theatre itself, and to invite passers-by to linger. In addition, the location offers the possibility of cooperation with the theatre.
The installation I propose in my project consists of seats that are shaped like puzzle pieces. They can be carried by persons and placed individually as well as together in the open area. Since different sized groups need different sized seating, there is the possibility of jigsawing the required seating together.
The puzzle piece is a symbol of the pandemic: even if we have to keep our distance, we know that we actually belong together.Little visual tutorials for some words in sign language are engraved on each seat. Hearing people are invited to learn a few signs as they take their seats. The larger goal is to draw attention to the many ways in which public space can make people with disabilities visible and to encourage people without disabilities to adjust to their disabled peers - just as they must constantly adjust to ableist society.
An additional option could be to engrave the puzzle pieces with braille, QR codes to listen to poetry, or different materials to feel textures, as the other option of sign language tutorials only focuses on the non-hearing population.
