Fordelene ved at være ordblind (Advantages of being dyslexic), 8 channel sound installation.
Forslag til lovændring: Ordblinde med stolthed (Proposal for legislative change: Dyslexia with Pride)
The Advantages of Being Dyslexic is an immersive multi-channel sound installation based on workshops held by the artist during 2023, with over 80 children, teens, and adults who have dyslexia.
The work is a composite of recordings from these workshops and intertwined with a narration performed by workshop participants with dyslexia. The key question asked in these workshops was: ‘Hvad er fordelene ved at være ordblind?’ (What are the advantages of being dyslexic?) For many participants, it was the very first time they were asked about the advantages of dyslexia and how the ability to translate sound into letters and vice versa could be regarded as a superpower rather than a ‘disorder’. Living with dyslexia forces people to creatively interpret their environment, ultimately developing multi-dimensional tools to navigate a society built on written words. Re-interpreting a vulnerability and pathologized ‘disorder’ into a source of ingenuity, the sound piece is a celebration of dyslexia and an attempt to engage with society’s understanding of dyslexia and open up our predisposition to what a dyslexic experience is.
Among many things, dyslexic experience tells us something about difference, experience, and neurodiversity, as well as it brings up questions about the relationships between the spoken and written word, and how we perceive and navigate systems built around conceptions of ‘normativity’. By sharing the experiences and reflections from a wide range of dyslexic participants, the installation demonstrates a diversity of experiences and ways of living with dyslexia, and brings into focus how dyslexia is often misjudged and misunderstood, ignored at best, stigmatized at worst.
Special thanks to all of you for sharing your stories All teachers and dyslexics who were part of ‘Fordelene ved at være ordblind’-workshops at Københavns VUC (HF OBU and Ordinære OBU), FGU Vesterbro, Limfjordskolen Struer, Ordblindeklubben at Nørre Nissum skole (primary school and HF OBU), dyslexics students in higher education who receive SPS, and dyslexics in a public open call. Furthermore, thank you to Ordblindeinstituttet, my SPS counselor at Københavns VUC, Sound Art Lab, Struer municipality and library.
The project also directly confronts the current school system in Denmark and takes an activist turn in presenting a new law proposal to circumvent the current framework of defining, testing for, and interventions concerning dyslexia. Indeed, non-Danish speakers may be surprised to know that the English name “dyslexia” in Danish is (ordblind) “word blindness”, a defunct term borrowed from English over a century ago when dyslexics would be sent to optometrists.
Today, the two national dyslexia tests in Denmark use color coding: red; if you have dyslexia, yellow; if you have signs of dyslexia, and green; if you are not at ‘risk’. The screening used to test children up to third grade is named ‘the Risk of Dyslexia test’ (‘Risiko’-test for ordblindhed). Parodying the absurdity of projecting judgmental colors onto individuals, Nymann has adopted green as a symbol of dyslexia awareness, and uses it in her installation and campaign also for the way that green acts as a calming, yet hyper-visible hue.
As further testament of her commitment, and this project as a performative and ongoing lifework, the artist has dressed in primarily green since October 2nd, 2023; the first day of international week for Dyslexia Awareness. Using the public forum of the exit graduation and channels of direct democracy, Nymann’s project also puts forward a manifest of several new bills and a law proposal for regulatory changes of how to frame dyslexia within the educational system and beyond, with the ambition that people living with dyslexia can be confident and proud to be considered a celebrated part of society.
Fordelene ved at være ordblind
Artist: Julie Nymann
Sound Designer: Joëlle McGovern Serret
“Samlet Union” & Composer & Producer: Agnes Valbjørn Stavnsbjerg
Narrator: Jonas Kjeldgaard Sørensen, Mette Moltke Wozniak, Julie Nymann
Voices: Limfjordskolen Struer, Ordblindeklubben Nørre Nissum, FGU Vesterbro, Anette Marcher, Kim Lykkegaard, and Marie Vedsmand
Writer: Julie Nymann
Script Editor: Agnes Valbjørn Stavnsbjerg
Dramaturgy: Julie Nymann, Joëlle McGovern Serret
Technical Coordination: Kristine Bech Sørensen
Technical Assistance: Nikolaj N. Phillipsen, Tilda Lundbohm
Politiken-Fonden supports the Installation
Contributors on The Legislation:
Writer: Julie Nymann
Graphic Designer: Kasper Aavad
Translator: Ami Frost
Text Editor: Helle Harnisch, Ida Vestergaard Øyan
Special thanks: Andrea Diermayr, Biba Fibiger, Jane Hye Jin Kaisen, Kristel Laurits, Kristine Bech Sørensen, Lars Bo Henriksen, Lars Buchholtz, Louise Rytter, Maibritt Borgen, Oskar Koliander, Pi Bartholdy, Rune Søchting, Silas Emmery, Troels Dankert, and Vibeke Rasmussen.
