There are many forms of communicating; whether through spoken word, written word, lipreading, sign language, braille, imagery, music, performance, etc. Grigley brings to light alternative processes that support him to interact with others, using these in his art practice.
Joseph Grigely, an artist who has been deaf since the age of ten, explores language, music and conversation, communicated in a visual form. His formal and geometrical displays of notes recorded during conversation appear like snapshots of his interactions with others and the outside world. These are often sorted into colour groups and contrasts, creating order among the chaos of spontaneous note writing. Using notes during conversation, alongside lip reading, help Grigely to communicate without audio. Observing these in a public exhibition space creates an insight into small moments of confusion and then clarity, of jokes, questions, emotions, even drawings. They also appear like a collection of keep-sakes or artefacts, an accumulation of memories and interactions that create a narrative for both artist and audience. I personally collect cards and notes given to me by others, train tickets, stickers, posters, which create a visual reminder of my experiences around me. To exhibit these notes in a public space is an act of exposure. However, Grigely does not disclose who the interactions are with, whether they are his words or theirs, the date, time or place of these happenings; they are taken out of context. Similar to my work, this leaves the audience at a distant, creating a curiosity into the details but also a question of privacy and intrusion.
Left Untitled Conversations (Portraits of Joseph, v.1), 2016
Right We're Bantering Drunkening About What's Important in Life, 2007
Left Multiples, 2000-2001
Right Thirteen Green Conversations, 2004
Grigely explores text in other ways such as Blueberry Surprise, which consists of 45,000 words compiled from conversations over ten years, each colour (red, orange, black) representing a 'new voice'. This continuous collage of fragmented conversations by unknown authors reads as a representation of imperfect streams of conversation, the way it can be awkward, switch between topics, always in flux. Although Grigely is deaf, this resonated with me as the feeling of being overwhelmed by my environment, from overlapping conversations and the relentlessness of verbal conversation as well as advertising, signs and social media; information overload. Although Grigely may not be trying to represent this element of language, this is what I often aim to show in my constant recordings of other conversations, often ones I am not involved with myself, as a way of being separate but connected nonetheless, trying to process and record by surroundings and experiences.
How does a structured, typographic piece like Blueberry Surprise compare to notes scrawled on scraps of paper, showing handwriting and sketches?
How do these communicate differently?
I think both forms of using language are effective in exposing the imperfect, constantly moving, often amusing, nature of conversation and interactions. Although the notes generally have less language, often dislocated words, phrases and diagrams, I find them more intimate and suggestive of the people writing them. The handwritten scrawls and drawings make for a more immediate, honest representation of communication.
However, what Grigely achieves through Blueberry Surprise is more about the constantly changing conversations over time, compiled from years of interactions and displayed together in a way that overwhelms the audience. It seems more about the ongoing nature of language rather than the small moments. The audience are at more of a distance also, although both do not give details such as author, time, place, date etc, it is difficult to read the piece in its entirety.
Blueberry Surprise 2006/2019
Throughout this exhibition he also picked out isolated phrases from the whole and displayed around the gallery. It is interesting to see how the language may be read differently when picked out, sometimes displayed next to seemingly irrelevant snippets of conversation. I find these amusing, thought provoking, and usually random. When written within the whole piece, may be unnoticed completely or less significant, but Grigely chose to single them out - a representation of his own preferences and maybe more poignant memories.
I often record phrases I hear or say that stick with me as seen below, written in my Notes App on my phone, as well as circling parts of overheard text in my sketchbook that I find thought provoking or quirky - to be recreated as an isolated phrase. These are sometimes re-written on a separate page, stuck up on studio wall amongst other work, until a piece materialises in my mind.
Isolated Phrases:
