“People often ask me what language I think in internally, and I want to bring it to life and show it to everyone.
A student asked me this question yesterday: “What can you hear? Like I can hear English inside my head.”
I responded: “I can’t hear; all I can see are visual communications. I imagine how we communicate through body expressions, whether it’s with hands or without them. It’s all visual. Even now, I can see it.”” – Jaycob Campbell (aka Gonketa)

Moving Forward is about breaking barriers and preconceptions, prompting viewers to think deeply about exactly how they think. Most people can understand what it’s like to think in pictures; to see images in your mind. For Deaf artist Jaycob Campbell—and many other people in the Deaf community—they experience life at the other end of this spectrum; where they think exclusively in visual form.

This exhibition is a fully immersive experience, straight from the mind of the artist; a look into his innermost thoughts and perceptions of the world in terms of language, expression, gesture, and feeling. Using painting as well as three dimensional augmentation, interactive projections, and digital renders, the exhibition is a journey for viewers to immerse themselves in new ways of seeing, thinking, and comprehending. For Jaycob, this is a chance to express himself in new ways, sharing his unique insights and reflections on Deaf culture and making it accessible to all.

Presented in partnership with Just Another Agency and Benalla Art Gallery: Bennett Gallery
Opening Night 15th Dec 2023 6pm. Runs until 21st Jan 2024