Tiphaine Girault
Tiphaine Girault, born in Paris, France, is a Canadian-French artist, living in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. She moved to Canada in 1998, where she communicates in French and LSQ (Langue des signes québécoise) as her first languages; though, she also communicates in ASL with Ameslan people. She appreciates opportunities and cultural diversity of Canada.
Tiphaine specializes in comic strips and graphic novels. She has a BA from the University of Quebec. She is currently studying Communication Media in the Masters program at the University of Ottawa. Her passion also involves illustrating children's books.
Tiphaine Girault. "Pollution sonore" ("Sound pollution") (2007). Printmaking, 40cm x 15cm.
Tiphaine and her partner live in her cozy house with two darling pets in Gatineau, Quebec, where she showed me her work. The interpretation of this work was an experience of the contrast of vocal-aural and visual-manual languages. In the left image, it represents desolate pollution of aural noises. On the other hand, the right image describes an experience of eyeing people's joy and nature of sign language. It feels open air and space that is easy to breathe in sign language. Sign language embodies an intimate experience of connecting to nature through the use of the body.
Reference
In-person and email interview. Ottawa, Ontario. October 2009.