Protest Sign

Protest Sign is a series of drawings depicting symmetrically arranged hand gestures, like symbols resonating with esoteric and mystical forms. Each gesture, in its uniqueness, refers to a sign whose meaning fluctuates according to culture, tradition or context, thus opening up a field of multiple and often ambiguous interpretations. This multiplicity of readings invites reflection on the subjectivity and uncertainty of our perceptions.

The display device, which echoes street furniture, seems to mark the necessary regulation of bodies in public space as much as it suggests a potential for resistance. These installations, which are both objects of constraint and expression, reveal themselves to be instruments of protest, evoking the duality between imposed order and freedom of expression.

The term “silent language”, borrowed from American anthropologist Edward T. Hall, a specialist in intercultural relations, refers to non-verbal language, a form of communication that is essential but often a source of cultural misunderstandings. Hall argues that although culture profoundly influences our behaviour and thought patterns, this influence can be transcended by an awareness of the existence of the other’s cultural universe. For Geoffrey Badel, this concept takes on its full meaning through the study and practice of languages and sign languages, which become vehicles for understanding and dialogue beyond words, conveying personal and collective expression.