Introspective Salad
Introspective Salad
- Creator: Ellen Mansfield
- Date: 2024
- Location: Boise City Hall, 1st Floor, Arts & History, Work Room, Unit I, Shelf/Drawer 3
- Types: ceramics (objects), sculpture (visual work)
- Materials: ceramic (material), glaze
- Collection: James Castle House Artist in Residence Works
On top of the vase/bowl, the black and white division represents the alienation between the pathologization of being deaf and the glorification of being deaf. The word “Pl-Ease” represents two emotions: trying to please people, asking people to please work with me, and knowing that speech therapy is not easy. The ease part is when I play on the field or find myself at ease with sign language. The tongue movement is one that is familiar to most, if not all, deaf people. The tongue is a focal point during speech therapy, and this movement is often used to practice the sound of “N” or “L.” The dandelions, cross-stitches, and “ASL” fingerspelling represent language development, or rather, no language development in speech. ASL is such a vibrant, necessary language for deaf people and the cross-stitches represent how we had our words — or hands — sewn shut with oralism. The dandelions represent us blowing away without ASL. But Deaf people will never go away, and ASL is here to stay. At the base, there are two sides representing different scenarios. On one side, the white figures in the foreground are conversing in sign language behind the fence. In the distance is Castle’s shed or “place” that represents alienation from sign language. The other side shows people roaming around as part of the living world. The black figures in the foreground are intertwined with trees without any barriers or fences.
