Signs of Life Exhibition at Filmbase

The Irish Deaf Society Opens ‘Signs of Life’ Photography Exhibition, Filmbase, Temple Bar.

Yesterday the Irish Deaf Society officially opened its ‘Signs of Life’ photography exhibition in Filmbase, Temple Bar, celebrating Irish Sign Language (ISL) as a unique and important Irish language.

The exhibition features 26 Irish celebrities including footballer Robbie Keane, novelist Roddy Doyle and pop duo Jedward and aims to raise public awareness and appreciation of ISL, the first language of the Irish deaf community used by up to 40,000 people.

‘Signs of Life’ will run in Filmbase until Saturday, 15th of October followed by a road show across the country. The 26 photographs, taken by deaf photographer Johnny Corcoran, provide a glimpse of the beauty of ISL through the eyes of 26 celebrities; each signing the letter of the ISL alphabet which best represents them. The exhibition will also feature short ISL lessons given by Irish Deaf Society volunteers throughout the week.

Commenting on the exhibition, Kevin Mulqueen, Chairperson of the Irish Deaf Society said, “This exhibition coincides with the 30th anniversary of our organisation. We want to raise awareness about ISL, which many people are amazed to find has its own linguistic structure – just the same as any other language. Despite its status as one of the most widely used languages in this country, ISL is not officially recognised by the government, meaning that deaf people struggle to access basic services in what might be their first language.”

The exhibition is a free event open to the public in Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 from Tuesday 11th October to Saturday 15th October from 9.30am – 5.30pm. Thereafter, it will move to Cabra Library, Navan Road, Dublin between the 18th – 28th October and onwards to other locations in Kildare, Mayo, Monaghan and beyond.

The exhibition photographs have also been complied and produced into a 2012 diary, which is available for sale at the exhibition for €9.99. Proceeds will go to the Irish Deaf society to invest in better ISL teaching resources around the country.

Log on to signsoflife.ie for further information on the exhibition.

Joanna for stylesiren.ie