CANARIES

By Jay Price

Canaries, 2022, Resin, acrylic, stainless steel, metal, glass. 1200mm (h) x 1000mm (w) x 1000mm (d)

‘Canaries’ is a lightless chandelier. No light, no enlightenment, just a ringing of bells drowning out any voice that stands against that which is unquestionable. It highlights the undesirable role disabled people play as a warning beacon to everyone in society.

The Covid 19 pandemic has tested us all in our online awareness, and few came away unaffected. “Fake news”; algorithms designed to evaluate our online habits for targeted content; ‘bot’ programmes masked as real people on social media; ‘influencers’ manipulating niche beliefs to monetise followers into ad revenue; false sources used to support divisive, even dangerous rhetoric. Governments, organisations, and individuals fall victim to and attack within this fluctuating power play. There is a constantly changing hierarchy of control, and with it we have seen the ‘divine data stream’ emerge that cannot be challenged without personal consequences.

Disabled people bore a disproportionate brunt of the negative effects from recent activities within this arena. Anti-mask and anti-vax movements imprisoned those with certain high-risk conditions in their homes, DNRs (Do Not Resuscitate Orders) were applied to disabled people in hospitals without their consent, and the recurring comment circulated that those who were dying were only those with pre-existing conditions and the elderly. We saw clearly the value placed on disabled people’s lives, and it was mostly accepted by society, as it has never been any other way. Whether it is 1933 and the ‘Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring’, 400BC and Plato’s principles of selective breeding predating the use of the word ‘eugenics’, WWII and disabled peoples’ murders in the holocaust, or spiritual or religious beliefs claiming possession; Excuses are easily found when one is looking for them. 

But we are the canaries in the mine. The treatment of us foreshadows the treatment of more socially acceptable humans. People may not care about us but they should take heed of our plight, as next it might be someone they love, or even themselves.

Watch the ‘Making Of’ video at this link:  https://youtu.be/HXK2F2b4vtY