DEAF 2034 - Submission to ESC 2034 0-1.gallery

Every year ESC 0-1 gallery prompt artists to submit works sharing their vision for a decade in the future.

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For 3034 (2024 open call), Emma visioned an evolutionary invention to support deaf/hard of hearing people with the focus on feeling vibrations. Emma is a hearing aid user and continues to experience life as a deaf person as hearing aids can not fix hearing loss, sounds can still be difficult to understand or not be heard at all.

After observing her deaf cat, Egon, she noticed his whiskers can still pick up vibrations of sounds even if he can not hear the sound itself, if a sound is loud enough he can react.

 

Learning about the sensitivity of Egon's whiskers opened a fascination of how vibrations are used by other animals to be aware of their surroundings, and they have evolved to be sensitive to vibrations. Emma thought of how sensitivity to vibrations is helpful for deaf/hard of hearing people, e.g. preferring people to knock on the surface next to them or stomping their feet to get their attention, and using vibration alarm clocks, but a technology that helps deaf/hard of hearing people be aware of their surroundings similarly to how whiskers, scales, and hairs inform some animals.