Imogen Stidworthy on Language, Autism, and the Atmospheres of Communication

In an interview published in Afterall Journal Issue 54 'Voicings', curator Nav Haq speaks with British artist Imogen Stidworthy about her practice exploring non-verbal communication, sense-making, and the materiality of voice. Stidworthy discusses her early sculptural installations in London sites such as Tooting Bec Mental Unit, her shift to working with recorded voice at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht in 1992, and her collaborations with people with aphasia (Tony O'Donnell for The Whisper Heard, 2003) and autism (Iris Johansson for Iris [A Fragment], 2018). She describes working with her parents in early works like I \ The corners of the mouth (1993) and To (1996), and with wiretap analyst Sacha van Loo for Sacha (2011–12). Key installations include I Hate (2007) for Documenta 12, featuring aphasic photographer Edward Woodman, and Balayer – A Map of Sweeping (2014/2018) developed with autistic adults in Monoblet, France. Stidworthy reflects on the concept of 'atmospheres full of information' as articulated by Johansson, and how her work resists normative framing. The interview also touches on her group exhibition 'Die Lucky Bush' (2008) at M HKA, Antwerp, and the ongoing indirect dialogue between Johansson and therapist Phoebe Caldwell.