Brendan Fernandes

Devils Noise

2011

"Devil's Noise" was conceived and produced during a residency at the prestigious German new media academy ZKM. This work investigates the student protests of 1976 in South Africa in which silence was used as a means of protest by student groups opposing the imposition of the Afrikaans language within the school system, effectively barring much of the population from participation. The title references a protest sign carried by a young boy stating "We Will Not Speak Your Devil Tongue". The work questions how language can act as away to oppress and control people.