We are delighted to announce that Nina Thomas and Fern Thomas have been selected to undertake the artist commissions for Tinnitus, Auditory Knowledge and the Arts. Both artists will be developing new work on tinnitus for an exhibition in October 2021, hosted in partnership with OVADA, Oxford.
Nina Thomas (https://www.ninathomas.org/) a visual artist, using the mediums of video, photography, artist publication and installation. She is interested in stories and histories which might be overlooked or underexplored. Much of her recent work has focused on her experience of becoming deaf and subsequently seeking to understand deaf histories and experiences. A few years ago, she began making work which explores tinnitus as a bodily experience and its relationship to other experiences of loss. Nina has exhibited at venues such as Tate Exchange, St. Margaret’s House, LUX (online) and HeART in Chatham. She is also a founding member of The Film Bunch (a deaf and hard of hearing film organisation).
Fern Thomas (www.fernthomas.com) is an artist and writer working in text, sound, performance and participatory practice. Her work explores folk-belief, place-based knowledge and histories, archives and pedagogical spaces; and is increasingly drawn to examining the invisible capacities of vibration. She has exhibited in Norway, Mexico, New Zealand, Germany, USA and in venues across the UK including Anthony Reynolds Gallery in London. She is currently has a Fellowship with g39 gallery, Cardiff as part of the Freelands Foundation Arts Programme and is part of the Tŷ Cerdd Experimental Sound Programme in Cardiff.
The selected artists were chosen from over 60 high-quality applications to the project’s Artist Open Call. OVADA’s director Lucy Phillips, who is acting as the exhibition curator, said:
We were overwhelmed by the variety and quality of applications for this Open Call. The large amount of artists with direct experience of tinnitus was insightful and shows that the subject matter is often not openly discussed for a variety of complex reasons. We are extremely grateful to AHRC, the Open University, Oxford Brookes University and the project team for enabling us to support the development of new artwork during what has been an incredibly difficult year for the creative industries. We are looking forward to collaborating with the commissioned artists over the coming months as we prepare for an exhibition at OVADA.
The project team are excited to be working closely with Nina, Fern and Lucy as part of their ongoing research into the relationship between tinnitus and the creative arts.
