Chella Man is a Deaf, trans, genderqueer, Chinese, Jewish artist. Man grew up in a hearing family and received a mainstream education. He received ASL lessons from a one-to-one tutor growing up, however without being immersed in the language i.e. among deaf peers, he found it difficult to pick up. Today he mostly relies on lip reading at the aid of his cochlear implants which he received as a teenager (Jameela Jamil, 2021).
Mans artwork illustrates his understanding of his various identity labels as continuums (which is the title of his debut book) with particular reference to deaf and queer pride.
The video and images below are part of Man’s ‘BIG DEAF’ project which explains disability as a continuum through Man’s understanding of his own deafness.
References:
Window Image and Figure 1d: About- Chella Man, (no date). Available at: https://chellaman.com/About [Accessed 09 May 2022].
Figure 2d: Chella Man (2021) ‘The Beauty of Being Deaf‘. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRBfhQm8Lss [Accessed 09 May 2022].
Figure 3d: Man, C. (2021) ‘BIG DEAF’ on Vimeo [online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/578879950?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=133370826 [Accessed 09 May 2022].
Figures 4d,5d,6d,7d,8d,9d: BIGDEAF-Chella Man, (no date). Available at: https://chellaman.com/BIGDEAF [Accessed 09 May 2022].
Jameela Jamil (2021) ‘Chella Man x Jameela Jamil on Reading Lips, Embracing Scars, and Queer Deaf Activism | I Weigh’ Chats. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rClkq2vpztM [Accessed 09 May 2022].
