Joseph Grigely
Untitled Conversations (Mumblebook), 1998Framed text and seven sheets of paper, pins
Deaf since the age of ten, Joseph Grigely has long relied on writing as a surrogate for speech, inviting his interlocutors to jot down their questions on cocktail napkins, hotel stationery, gallery announcements—whatever they find at hand. In 1994, Grigely began employing these once discarded notes to create a series of witty, wry installations and mixed-media assemblages that explore the potential—as well as the limits—of human communication.