i am an artist-researcher working with theatre, video, ceramics, and sound exploring bodies that experience other ways of being in the world, dysfluent languages, and time that bends.
PROJECTS
GLOSSARY
STUDIO
BIOGRAPHY AND CV
i am an artist-researcher working with theatre, video, ceramics, and sound exploring bodies that experience other ways of being in the world, dysfluent languages, and time that bends.
PROJECTS
GLOSSARY
STUDIO
BIOGRAPHY AND CV
A
andman “yes, and...” is an improvisational sketch comedy rule where an improvisor accepts a statement that is given to them by another improvisor and expands on it: “yes” (I accept), “and” (I will expand on the statement). re-framed in SCORE, an andman does not expand, they demand more. you can almost hear them say, “yes. and, and, and...?” until annihilation of a statement, human, or object in front of them.
anomia is mild a type of aphasia that presents as trouble with word-finding. it is also called anomic aphasia. not to be confused with an experience of memory loss, or a lack of intelligence, anomia is an experience of delayed language recall. it is sometimes referred to as “empty speech” because a verb or a noun might be replaced by the word ‘thing,’ a pause in conversation, or an imperceptible sound.
on an average day, anomia appears in my speech like, “i would like to make a cup of tea, i will put on the …” and then the aphasia begins. i either wait for the word to come, or insert an approximated word, synonym, or an explanation that tries to make up for the missing word, like “black covered pot that goes on the oven top or just clicks standalone after it boils water.” the word i am looking for is ‘kettle’.
aphasia is a type of language dyfluency that affects how language is processed internally (input) and how language is expressed externally (output). it impacts a person’s ability to absorb, make sense of, and produce language, preventing them from having the kind of conversations they want.
there are numerous types and subtypes of aphasia that range that range from mild to severe differences with language. types of aphasia include anomic/anomia, broca/expressive, wernicke/receptive, and conduction aphasia. anomic aphasia, also called anomia, involves cognitive comprehension of spoken and written language communication with ease (input), but trouble with verbal and written word finding (output), specifically verbs and nouns.
broca aphasia, also called expressive aphasia, is similar to anomia in that comprehension of oral and written language (input) remains unaffected, but forming and speaking full sentences (output) remains difficult. this is because the spoken sentences are often missing prepositions that bind a sentence together.
wernicke’s aphasia, also referred to as receptive aphasia, differs from anomia and broca aphasia in that comprehension of oral and written communication (input) is compromised. fluency in production of language remains intact internally (output), but words and sentences come out in a disorganized fashion (output). this disorganization is also referred to as apraxia of speech, or in layman terms, a word salad. for example, calling “a dog” “an animal”, referring to the “kitchen” as “chicken”, or what appears to be nonsensical words to the listener, but makes perfect sense to the speaker.
lastly, conduction aphasia affects a person’s ability to repeat words and may include mixing up opposite words. for example, a person might use the word “winter” when they wish to say “summer” or refer to a “cat” as a “dog”. accompanying aphasia, people may also experience apraxia (difficulty with intonation and rhythm in speech), dysarthria (slurred speech) and dysphagia (choking).
B
bodymind is a term used in disability scholarship to describe the relationship between the body and mind as one unit.
brain injury in the 1940s, brain injuries were described as open and closed head injuries. open head injuries are injuries that involve the penetration of an object through the skull and brain tissue (for example, a pole passing through phineas gage’s head and coming out the other side) while a closed head injury involves non-penetrating blunt force trauma that causes the brain to ricochet off the skull from the inside (for example, a blow to the head during a boxing match).
at present, before birth, a brain injury caused by genetics or birth trauma is classified as perinatal brain damage. outside of the womb, a brain injury from internal factors such as a stroke, tumor, or disease is considered an acquired brain injury (abi), while a brain injury from external factors like a gunshot wound, blunt force trauma, asphyxiation is called traumatic brain injury (tbi). tbi is classified between open and closed head injuries.
C
communication disorders (so-called) is a normative term for describing disabled communication and language dysfluency. see: disabled speech. it purposely includes the wording (so-called) beside it to indicate resistance to normative descriptions of communication difference.
crip sts is the combination of disability studies and science and technology studies (sts). see: science and technology studies (sts). key thinkers in this area include aimi hamraie, kelly fritsch, and nancy davis halifax. the crip technoscience manifesto is an amazing introduction to this field of study.
crip time is a disability studies concept coined by alison kafer. kafer says, "rather than bend disabled bodies and minds to meet the clock, crip time bends the clock to meet disabled bodies and minds." to learn more about how crip time disrupts normative clock time, read feminist, queer, crip by alison kafer.
D
disabled speech is a encompasses a constellation of communication difference that includes but is not limited to trouble with word finding, difficulty hearing and organizing sounds, and sensory differences caused by brain injury, as well as stuttering, deafness, and non-verbal autism stemming from differences in brain physiology at birth.
dysfluency is an umbrella term that describes an interruption in the flow of speech. it is synonymous with disabled speech. in the poetic words of artist and stutterer jjjjjerome ellis, “i am both speaking and not speaking. mid-sentence i block on a word. sound stops coming from my mouth, but i haven't reached the end of my thought.”
language dysfluency is used by the stuttering community and has been adapted by people with aphasia and other communities that are unnamed that exist on the fringes of dysfluent speech. the word “dysfluency” is used instead of “disfluency” to indicate transcendence of societial expectations of normative speech and a deliberate gesture of veering away from clinical practices invested in cure.
E
empty speech is a historically harmful term used to describe aphasia that is still used in clinical practice in present day. “empty speech” was first coined by psychoanalyst and psychiatrist jacques lacan. anomia, and kinds of aphasia are referred to as empty speech because a verb or a noun might be replaced by the word “thing” or silence during a conversation with someone with aphasia. “empty” is harmful because it indicates a deficit to be filled, fixed, or cured. in my project HOW DO WE (SPEAK) LIKE A PALACE, the word “speak” appears in brackets to suggest the interiority of language dysfluency by people with aphasia as anything but, empty. (like a) “palace’“ is an ode to the concept of memory palace driven further by possibilities of crip imagination, futurism and worldmaking.
G
glottal block stutter is a stutter in the form of silence, a stammer, a slight choke, or immediate cough like sound that comes from the throat - specifically the voice box - when speaking.
I
injured mind is another way of describing a brain injury. see: brain injury. michelle charette, denielle elliott, and elizabeth lima discuss brain injury in this way, in their article sonic stories, sensory ethnography, and listening with an injured mind.
indigenous feminist sts is the combination of indigenous feminist studies and science and technology studies (sts). see: science and technology studies (sts). a key scholar in this field of study is kim tallbear. influential to my work is standing with and speaking as faith: a feminist-indigenous approach to inquiry written by tallbear.
M
matters of care is a concept coined by maria puig de la bellacasa. it expands on bruno latour’s concept of matter of concern and involves the act of caring for all things human and non-human. for example, tending to an assistive device with the same regard as tending to someone who is not feeling well.
P
perseveration, according to the blackwood gallery, “is the bodymind’s compulsion to ruminate and rehearse. influential to my work is m. remi yergeau’s composing perseveration / perseverative composing in crip authorship: disability as method where yergeau flips perseveration on it’s head by exchanging it’s origins in behavioural psychology with “rhetorical invention and access creation.”
Q
queer sts is a combination of queer studies and science and technology studies (sts). see: science and technology studies (sts). key players in this field of study include michel foucault, gloria anzaldúa, and donna haraway. influential to my work is queer feminist science studies: a reader, particularly brains, sex, and queers 2090: an ideal experiment by isabelle dussauge.
R
research-creation is a research method that combines artistic practice and academic scholarship. the definitions of research-creation somewhat vary by artist-scholar and funding body. most interesting to me are definitions of research-creation by natalie loveless. loveless, inspired by cyborg manifesto and the companion species manifesto by donna haraway, fosters a seat at the table for sound, by arguing against conventional text-based research traditions claiming that it “renders life in the academy unsustainable.”
S
science and technology studies (sts) is an interdisciplinary field of study that combines science, technology, and society. original thinkers in the social study of science include but are not limited to ludwik fleck, thomas kuhn, and robert merton. current key players include, but are not limited to, sheila jasanoff, donna haraway, and bruno latour. sts is an exciting field of study that empowers projects like: reimagining video game histories, social studies of neuroscience, and the application of arts-based methods to the study of laughter.
sonic ethnography is the study of people and culture through sound. in my project, REMEMBER TO FORGET, i studied the culture of memory and language through audio vocalizations of memory phenomena.
staying with trouble coined by donna haraway, is a communal response to conflict that is rooted in indigenous feminist co-production of knowledge by meeting trouble where it is at. in 26 OR LESS, i talk about the choice of sitting with the distance my disabled speech creates between me and the people i care about. an alternative to masking and in collaboration with community.
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