The National College
Elizabeth Smith
My work attempts to locate and redefine my position in society as a woman with a physical disability. On the one hand I’m looking at my awkwardness in trying to function within able-bodied society in terms of having to use tools that do not fit my body since the range and quality of prosthetic tools available to me on the medical card is severely limited. Also in terms of not being able to clap, and so I am playing around with different ways to perform in contrast to standard ways of performance. On the other hand, I’m addressing hierarchies of embodiment within society, which are reflected and perpetuated by the media by representing people with disabilities as being less sexually desirable than able-bodied people are. My work tries to gain control over these representations by subverting them to represent my sexuality.
Exhibitions:
2001: The Missing Link, Guinness Storehouse, Dublin
