Illustration
Access vs. No Access
Access vs. No Access presents two acrylic sheets layered over one another. The pink holds many lips etched alongside a singular eye. The yellow holds only eyes. As the sheets meet and overlap, the two worlds bleed into each other, speaking to what... More
Illustration
Accommodate Eye
Accommodate Eye is an illustrative poster where typography becomes the message. The text is deliberately difficult to read, shaped into an exclamation mark, and at its base, Poofy's eye looks back up at the word above her. The effort of reading... More
Illustration
Campfire Blues
Campfire Blues depicts a familiar situation for Poofy, gathered around a campfire, where the flame moves unpredictably, and with it, any chance of connection. Light that shifts and disappears is light that cannot be read.
Illustration
House Party Blues
House Party Blues depicts a familiar situation for Poofy, a space meant for mingling, flirtation, and easy connection. It is the visible lips that draw her attention; lips she can read, conversations she might follow. And yet, even when a face is... More
Illustration
I Hang Out With Mouths
I Hang Out With Mouths is a physical flipbook animation in which Poofy tumbles through a world of mouths. Surrounded on all sides, it captures the constant, consuming presence of lips that must always be watched, followed, and understood.
Illustration
Legends Of Society
Legends of Society is an illustrative poster styled as a legend, the kind used to map and categorize a world. Here, it charts the different people Poofy moves through every day: the hearing, the Deaf, and herself. A quiet reminder that... More
Illustration
Mirror, SIgnal, Action
Mirror, Signal, Action captures an intimate, everyday moment. Poofy at the mirror, doing her makeup, when she catches her partner reaching for her attention through the reflection. A small gesture, a shared language, connection found in the most... More
Illustration
Mother's Phone Call
Mother's Phone Call captures a quietly painful moment of exclusion. Where hearing people eavesdrop with their ears, Poofy follows with her eyes, reading lips is how she listens. When those lips are covered mid-conversation, access is taken away.... More
Illustration
Mouths Move, Access Denied
Mouths Move, Access Denied depicts a familiar frustration for Poofy, a night at the movie theatre, caption device in hand, only for it to glitch and drop words. The mouths on screen keep moving, but the access does not keep up. Something as... More
Illustration
Poofy and The City
Poofy and the City, inspired by Sex and the City, is Poofy's own interpretation of her world. Colourful, vibrant, and unapologetically hers. She lets herself exist fully, and in doing so, becomes a role model along the way.
Illustration
Read These Lips Damn Hard
Read These Damn Lips Hard is a vibrant typographic illustration, bold colours against rocks and splashing water. The chaos of the surroundings mirrors the chaos of the task. It captures the sheer physical and mental demand of lip reading, wearing... More
Illustration
Split Personalities
Split Personalities illustrates the double-edged nature of living with a cochlear implant. On one side, Poofy is energized, connected, present, and engaged. On the other, she wears the device out of obligation to herself, drained by the very thing... More
Illustration
Tears Speak
Tears Speak imagines the eye as it weeps, its tears falling not as tears, but as lips. A quiet portrait of the strain that comes from a world of mouths to follow, and the exhaustion held within that effort.
Illustration
Text Without Tone
Text Without Tone is a risograph print in a single colour, purple, chosen for the mood it carries. The piece takes the form of a letter, illustrated with a mouth and an eye, tracing the limits of a phone call that cannot quite succeed. Captions... More
Illustration
Unheard, Unbothered
Unheard, Unbothered is a risograph print in two colours, teal and medium blue, depicting Poofy in peaceful sleep. Undisturbed by the sounds that pull others from their rest, she rests fully, finding stillness in what others might overlook.
Illustration
Unquiet Circuts
Unquiet Circuits invites a closer look at the cochlear implant, not as a device worn, but as one placed within. The whole frame becomes a brain, shaped into the form of the implant itself. Blue volts move through the nerves, quietly holding the... More
Illustration
Where Are You, Mom?
Where Are You, Mom? is a risograph brochure, unfolding to reveal a familiar tension felt at home. Poofy's mother is calling out, but without the ability to locate where sound comes from, finding her becomes its own quiet search.
Illustration
Woman vs. Gadget
Woman vs. Gadget is a harrowing illustration of the never-ending, symbiotic relationship Poofy holds with her cochlear implant, the tool that connects her to the hearing world. The implant hovers above her, a presence that does not ask permission,... More
Work by
Emily Akerman aka. Poofy
Illustration, Visual Storytelling, Deaf Visual Image Art (De'VIA)
“Beyond Hearing is series of works exploring the Deaf experience and an individual’s agency in a hearing-centered world. ...” [More]