RA Walden, access points // or // alternative states of matter(ing), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Storm King Art Center.

In a Manner of Speaking

January 8 – June 30, 2025
Three-part lightbox exhibition on UTM campus

Artists: Scott Benesiinaabandan, Emily Cook, People Who Stutter Create (Jia Bin, Delicia Daniels, JJJJJerome Ellis, Conor Foran, Kristel Kubart), Wieteke Heldens, Seo Hye Lee, Logan MacDonald, S. Proski, RA Walden

Curated by Karie Liao

At its core, communication feels simple: a sender puts thoughts into words, and a receiver listens, hoping to catch its meaning. Yet, between those two points lies a space of unpredictability. Subtle differences–of experience, of perspective, of understanding–can shift the message, bending it into something inarticulate, something unintended.

In the context of communication theory, this disruption is called “noise”–barriers that go beyond literal sounds to include cultural differences, semantic misunderstandings, and psychological or physical distractions. These interferences breed friction, often deepening a sense of disconnection. This complexity contrasts with the purpose of language: to extend ourselves into the world and toward each other.

In a Manner of Speaking (IMS) explores the longing to be understood, interrogating the limitations of language and the inadequacies of culturally dominant vocabularies. Structured like a book–a medium for sharing information and ideas–this three-part exhibition animates four outdoor lightboxes. Across three chapters, reading, speaking, and listening emerge as acts of invention and reinvention, shaped by diverse lived experiences. Artists reimagine communication, challenge colonial and ableist linguistic norms, and illuminate the intersections of identity, access, and expression.

Chapter One: Encounter and Negotiation
January 8 – March 4, 2025

This opening chapter considers how relationships and environments are formed, experienced, and adapted. Logan MacDonald draws on Indigenous land-based knowledge, emphasizing listening as a decolonial strategy and means of regeneration. Seo Hye Lee reimagines sound through her cochlear implant, creating a unique visual language that captures her perceptions of environmental noise. Emily Cook introduces opacity and tactile engagement to craft more hospitable spaces, highlighting the interdependencies that sustain both individuals and communities. RA Walden critiques the biases embedded in listening and observing, revealing the systemic disbelief often faced by individuals with invisible disabilities. Collectively, these works outline paths to not just survive but thrive.

Chapter Two: Longing and Desire
March 5 – April 29, 2025

The second chapter turns to expressions of desire and the shared aspirations of belonging and being. Inspired by the agglutinative structure of Anishinaabemowin, Scott Benesiinaabandan creates multi-layered works that traverse human and spirit realms. The collective People Who Stutter Create advocates for recognizing stuttering and speech disfluencies as dynamic, living languages through their text-based work. Rooted in her experience as a patient in intensive care, Wieteke Heldens’ mixed media paintings serve as both a testament to survival and a means of interpreting her immediate environment. S. Proski expands the still-life genre to engage non-visual senses, and in doing so offers a nuanced dialogue between the seen and the felt.

Chapter Three: Understanding and Fulfillment
April 30 – June 30, 2025

The final chapter focuses on being understood and having one’s access needs met, even if fleetingly. RA Walden presents xây ithřa, a newly constructed language rooted in queering lexicons–drawing from argots and cants to anti-languages and speculative fiction– xây ithřa embodies “access intimacy,” a concept coined by disability justice writer Mia Mingus to describe the feeling of deep, reciprocal understanding.

Throughout IMS, communication and perception unfold through multi-sensory layers. Many works are paired with audio components, expanding interpretive possibilities, while others prioritize non-visual senses, subverting the dominance of sight. Detailed visual descriptions by Rebecca Singh also accompany all works to enhance accessibility. IMS is an invitation to reconsider how we interpret meaning, navigate relationships, and envision more accessible and inclusive ways of connecting with one another. By centring interdependence, resilience, and creativity, this exhibition transforms communication into a profound act of care and possibility.

JJJJJerome Ellis, Aster of Ceremonies, 2024. Performance documentation at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA). Courtesy of the artist and PICA. Photo: Robert Franklin.

JJJJJerome Ellis: Aster of Ceremonies
Thursday, April 17, 2025, 7pm
Arraymusic (155 Walnut Ave., Toronto, Ontario)
Free to attend; registration opens on February 17, 2025 on Eventbrite.

As part of In a Manner of Speaking, JJJJJerome Ellis will perform Aster of Ceremonies. This improvised performance weaves together spoken word, live music, and projected text. Combining piano, saxophone, dulcimer, and voice, Ellis draws from their book of poetry of the same name, exploring connections between blackness, disabled speech, divinity, nature, sound, and time. Through a devotional song cycle, Ellis honours 18th- and 19th-century Black runaway slaves who stuttered, offering a profound counter-narrative to the “masters of all vessels” by invoking the imagery of a family of flowers. This lecture-performance is an ongoing attempt to, as the artist notes, in the words of critic Hortense Spillers, “hear [slavery’s] stutter more clearly.”

Acknowledgements

In a Manner of Speaking is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the University of Toronto Mississauga. Proudly sponsored by U of T affinity partners. Discover the benefits of affinity products!

The Blackwood
University of Toronto Mississauga
3359 Mississauga Road
Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6

blackwood.gallery@utoronto.ca
(905) 828-3789

Please note: In a Manner of Speaking is FREE and open to the public, and accessible 24 hours a day in four outdoor lightboxes across UTM campus. Some movement throughout the campus is required—ramps and curb cuts are in place.

Image descriptions:
1. A landscape at dusk. In the foreground, a sculptural installation of large concentric metallic rings lies on a grassy hillside. In the background, rolling hills fade into the distance under a star-filled sky.
2. JJJJJerome Ellis stands on a dimly lit stage, playing a saxophone. In the background, a projection displays botanical names, musical notations, and phrases such as “each green morning has a name.” The audience is visible in the foreground.