“Can you hear me?”

The collection of “Charlie Chimps” and spondee (two syllabi words) vocabularies are tools used in audiology in the 80s and 90s to determine if a child is deaf and how deaf they were. The monkey was the artifact that determined the artist’s identity as a deaf child by not looking at it when it was making a clashing sound with cymbals. It is a common object found in audiologist booths across America. The haunting stare and the aggressive motion of the monkey were some of the artist’s earliest memories, as he was tested for his ability to hear. How can one comical object define the artist’s future as a deaf person? The artist revisited “Charlie Chimp” after three decades of not experiencing the object again to deconstruct, repurpose, and redefine what “Charlie Chimp” can be into a visual delight for the viewers.

About Justin Dougan-LeBlanc

Justin Dougan-LeBlanc of Justin LeBlanc Design is a Deaf and Queer installation artist and textile designer. He is an Associate Professor of Fashion Studies at Columbia College Chicago where he teaches fashion and installation design. LeBlanc’s interdisciplinary career spans fashion, textile art, architecture, and technology. LeBlanc aims to push art and education forward by combining the strengths of emerging technology like 3D printing with the traditions of the hand. This knowledge and experience in multiple disciplines and his upbringings as a Deaf person allows him to exploit and fuse different approaches, resulting in artistic expression that cannot be conveyed by one discipline alone. All his works explores the topics and storytelling on Deaf Culture and LGTBQIA+. LeBlanc has been featured in a number of publications, exhibitions, fashion shows, and television in the United States and internationally. These include Mercedes New York Fashion Week, Marie Claire, Red Eye, The Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, USA Today, and The Face Magazine. He has competed on Project Runway and Project Runway All Stars. LeBlanc’s undergraduate degree is in Architecture from North Carolina State University, and his master’s degree is in Fashion Design and Installation from School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

People talk about core memories—memories that have impacted the trajectory of their personal journey. The artist, Justin Dougan-LeBlanc was born deaf. He is Deaf. His core memories are seen and defined through the lens of a deaf person. The collection of works on display explores the dialogue of the queer deaf experience through sculptural artifacts that capture his personal moments, feelings, and thoughts. Each work explores how people perceived the artist as a broken, crippled, or a lesser human. Society’s viewpoints only give the artist the opportunity to challenge, teach, and overcome with his unique stories that he will share.

Contact: JustinLeBlancDesign@Gmail.com