Staring directly at the camera, Tsang re-performs one section of “In My Language,” a forceful YouTube manifesto by autism rights activist Amanda Baggs. Tsang’s powerful interpretation was staged at The Silver Platter, home to the club Wildness, following a year in which the artist had presented live performances of the Baggs text. Tsang mimetically reproduces the voice of Baggs’s Speech Generation Device, stating, “It is only when I type something in your language that you refer to me as having communication.”
Recommended Age: Grade 6 and up
- What do you think the title of the work, The Shape of a Right Statement, means?
- In the film, Tsang re-performs the text from Amanda Baggs’ manifesto In My Language, “mimetically reproducing” the voice of Baggs’ Speech Generation Device.
- Why do you think Tsang chose to perform the piece in this way?
- How does this work make you think about communication, and how we choose to communicate with others? Does it give you a new perspective on persons who communicate in ways other than spoken language?
- If you could ask the artist a question about the piece, what would you like to know?
