Victoria & Albert, London
From self-tightening shoes to an all-purpose hands-free vibrator, this superb exhibition demonstrates that disability-led culture and design is about so much more than ramps
R
unning through each section of this tremendous show is something mainstream society doesn’t get to see very often: disabled joy. It’s there in the harness that allows deaf and hearing-impaired gig-goers to feel music as vibrations on their chest. It’s there in the vibrant clothes. It’s there – certainly – in the all-purpose hands-free vibrator (yes, really). But it’s not just the individual items that exude this joy. It’s the themes of community action and care that show up again and again, and the reframing of the very concept of disability – from the “medical problem” society sees to the proud identity we know it to be.
This show, which takes a wide-ranging look at how disabled people have fashioned the world to better represent ourselves and better suit our needs, is divided into three parts: Visibility, Tools and Living. In Visibility, we see the evolution of accessible fashion from sterile to cool, and how disabled people have used photography to reclaim our images and bodies. In Tools, we see how disabled people have adapted everything from kitchen utensils to computers to allow us to get things done. And in Living, we see how we have demanded cultural and architectural change so that we can participate in society as equals.
