Wellcome Collection presents Finger Talk
This summer, Wellcome Collection presents ‘Finger Talk’, a powerful new British Sign Language (BSL) 360-degree audiovisual installation by artist and curator Cathy Mager. Created in collaboration with deaf artists and contributors, this free immersive installation foregrounds BSL as a living and evolving language with a rich cultural history and a vital expression of identity, resilience, and community.
Running from 8 July to 17 October 2025, ‘Finger Talk’ invites both deaf and hearing audiences to experience the shared heritage and cultural identity of the British deaf community. Through an interweaving blend of historic sign language film, contemporary performances, animated sequences, and soundscapes, the large-scale installation challenges the medical view of deafness by reframing “hearing loss,” as “deaf gain”. To deepen this immersive and multi-sensory experience, haptic vests will be available for visitors to wear, enabling them to feel the vibration of the soundscape as it resonates through the body and inviting audiences to reconsider how sound can be experienced.
At the heart of the installation are a series of real audiograms donated by members of the deaf community. These clinical tests measure a person’s degree of hearing and traditionally use symbols such as birds singing to depict “normal” hearing and chainsaws to indicate “severe” or “profound” hearing loss. The results of these tests often carry significant implications for a deaf person’s life, from educational options to social inclusion. Mager, who has a ‘flat-lined’ audiogram herself, reclaims and reimagines this narrative by transforming these symbols of diagnosis to an animated flock of birds in flight.
Mager’s installation includes rare archival footage from the British Deaf Association, dating back to the late 1920’s that capture joyful everyday moments of deaf people using sign language and socialising at picnics and sporting events. These unique and remarkable films document some of the earliest depictions of finger spelling and native BSL, providing an insight into the history and heritage of the deaf community in a way that has rarely been seen and is often overlooked.
As well as historic footage, ‘Finger Talk’ will feature contemporary sign language performances by deaf artists using Visual Vernacular – a powerful form of storytelling that combines sign language and mime. These artistic performances express themes of loss, resilience, humour and community, and are accompanied by a specially commissioned soundscape composed by deaf and disabled musicians. Illustrations of finger-spelling guides, dating back to the 17th century and drawn from Wellcome Collection and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People archive held at UCL Library, will surround the installation.
Together, these elements create a richly immersive installation that invites audiences to step out of a hearing-centred world and into a sensory space shaped by deaf perspectives. Curated by Mager in collaboration with deaf artists, ‘Finger Talk’ is accompanied by a deaf-led programme of workshops, tours, and performances that offers not only insight into the heritage of the British deaf Community, but also the opportunity for visitors to feel the emotional power and intelligence of sign-based communication.
‘Finger Talk’ runs alongside ‘1880 THAT: Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader’, a free exhibition at Wellcome Collection exploring sign language and identity (on view until 16 November 2025).
