9 Words podcasts: Inspire
Image by Dee Patel
INSPIRE – Omar Haq & Ishtiaq Hussain
In this podcast I talk to Artist Ishtiaq Hussain & Producer Omar Haq. And learn about the Wolverhampton Six.
Image by Dee Patel
Image by Dee Patel
Extracts from the podcast
“VV [Visual Vernacular] is a theatrical performance with a storyline and it's also iconic and expressive and it includes facial expressions and body movement.”
“I really miss the deaf community, what it was like when I was younger it was marvellous and also, I want deaf people to be a strong community like equal to hearing people.”
“That's where I first met my deaf teacher, he taught me through communication firstly. And he taught me about BSL, he taught me about the language getting recognised and that really intrigued me, and I learnt a lot and he was the best teacher I had out of everyone because, I could communicate with him. He was the first person I could communicate with really and that just made my life a lot easier.”
“The coronavirus pandemic has been really awful, and people have been isolated at home, with no communication, it’s been barriers and not understanding TV - the news broadcasts. Some people might be able to read subtitles, others might not, others can't read the newspapers so all that time people being stuck at home has had a dramatic effect on people.”
“…Why don’t we block the roundabout, block the exits to get a little attention. And at the same time the Wolves football ground was having a game so they were really packed and we had blocked this roundabout. There was buses trying to get past, there was people trying to get past and the police were by football ground and no one could get to us because it was so busy that we blocked off pretty much the whole road.”
“I did go to Pakistan recently and I met a lot of deaf people in Pakistan. And it really hit me because their sign language is completely different and their facial expressions are completely different, their body language is different and I was confused because I was just sitting there thinking we are both deaf but we’ve got two completely different languages. And after a while I kind of cracked it, I sussed it, I realised how to communicate with them and made an incredible bond with them. I ended up staying there for 10 months, with those guys and it was amazing.”
Download the transcript of the podcast here.
Inspire credits:
Artists Omar Haq & Ishtiaq Hussain
Presented and produced by Bobby Tiwana
Sound design, engineering and editing by Duncan Grimley
Commissioned by Creative Black Country
Funded by Arts Council England
Supported by Wolverhampton Arts & Culture and Paycare.
