CCA Research Associate Vishal Kumaraswamy for VISUAL Carlow

CCA's 2022 Research Associate Vishal Kumaraswamy is part of Speech Sounds; an upcoming event at VISUAL Carlow. He will exhibiting alongside fellow Research Associate Francis Whorrall-Campbell and artist Frank Wasser, who has work featured in CCA's URGENCIES (2021).

Titled after a short story by sci-fi writer Octavia Butler, Speech Sounds is an exhibition that considers communication, language, and the body. Butler’s story takes place in the aftermath of a global pandemic - that has left most of the survivors without the ability to speak, read, or write - and the resulting collapse of society. The story presents a problematic view of the creative adaptability of human communication.  

Working in the legacy of the world-building of Octavia Butler, the artworks in the exhibition reckon with narratives of disability and access, the relationship between humans and ecology, the languages of love and loss, with a world beyond, of living and imagined languages, connecting with ancestors, the material of words, and a dialogue with history. 

Find out more about the show on the VISUAL Carlow website, or follow Vishal on Instagram for updates.