Wendy Lu is a Hard of Hearing, Taiwan-born, Toronto-based multimedia artist, who graduated with Specialized Honours from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts. Wendy lost her hearing as an infant due to meningitis-related fever, and throughout her life, she has undergone left-brain surgery, as well as three cochlear implant surgeries. Her severe-to-profound bilateral hearing loss affects both ears, and her cochlear implant technology affects her hearing and speech. Her visualizations attempt to depict analogues of perceptual difference involving drop-outs, disconnects and scrambling artifacts, based on her lived experience aurally negotiating and interpolating in communications with others. Wendy Lu’s artworks are visual thought experiments that explore and creatively expand on a wide range of concepts and references. Her artistic explorations attempt to creatively map out forms of non-normative experiences, spaces and possibilities.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Art is powerful, experiential and experimental. I would like to make a positive difference in people’s lives, advocate for social change and build better communities. My hearing journey helps me to be confident, strong, brave, and courageous. I am optimistic about my great strengths to express my creative imagination and overcome my hearing disability with perseverance. I use my creative expressions to raise awareness about social issues, inspire positive transformations, explore how artistic endeavors contribute to activism, promote awareness, and ignite meaningful conversations. I use art as a tool for social awareness to express my creative concepts, bolster my confidence and strengthen my mental health. I strive to improve the quality of my artworks with my strong work ethics, superb abilities, unique styles, versatile techniques, and excellent skills. I hope that my artworks will increase awareness of accessibility issues, bring harmony to diverse communities and encourage businesses to be accessible for people with disabilities.