Music During The Pandemic
Right now I'm sitting in my mentors art gallery. My opening to my show starts in 15 minutes.
Today is a bittersweet victory for me. For many years I hit and shame my hearing impairment. Struggling to formulate fragmented information from those around me. It wasn't until right before the pandemic that I finally faced my fear of rejection and I finally was fitted with hearing aids.
The pandemic has been painfully brutal making reading lips impossible. So during the pandemic I created a world around me that I could understand. With the tear in my eye and my head high, I finally share with the world how it is for me to perceive sound and I'm no longer ashamed to ask someone to repeat what they've said or to write it down for me.
I realize that I am a sum of my survival and experience not the sum of my damage. My music series is based on how I hear sound the background washed out the music notes all out of juxtaposition. With a 3D glasses it will separate the layers and the viewer will get a visual vibration and see how I perceive sound.
I share this in hopes that others out there don't hide in the shadows of their disabilities. These disabilities do not define us. We are survivors, we thrive we create art in order to be productive in our everyday lives and gain a sense of balance and normality that we can understand. My show will be up for the next 2 weeks in Brooklyn New York. It's been an amazing journey and I'm forever grateful that I've made it this far.
Rev Nancy Rouse