sonjazelić

contexts

circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood

Sensory Philosophy, exploring the margins of speech and silence

A spotlit circle of light on orange stage curtains

an invitation to speak

Please click image above for full document.

Supported by a bursary from a-n The Artists Information Company @an_artnews

My experience of Situational Mutism (aka Selective Mutism) has led me to question the way our society is based on the assumption of universal access to language and speech. Being made to communicate in neurotypical ways is disabling for many and these unspoken assumptions are never questioned.

My actual lived experience of SM as an artist functioning in the world and the way it has impacted my practice and career, has previously been hidden as a private struggle. Shame has kept me from looking too closely at its effects.

The bursary has brought my creative practice and advocacy together, integrating two, once separate, domains. This pdf is a working document, a living and evolving philosophy, which reflects my neurodivergent process.

Sonja Zelić