[1] Betty G. Miller and Paul Johnston held a workshop titled "Expression: American Deaf Art," which took place at Gallaudet University in May 1989.
This branch of De'VIA includes artworks that showcase themes of audism, oralism, mainstreaming, cochlear implants, identity confusion, and eugenics.
[2] All of these themes, typically negative in the eyes of the artist, are brought forward as a form of protest, as resistance De'VIA conveys how Deaf people have been oppressed, colonized and marginalized.
Ameslan is an old acronym for American Sign Language, which references the first few letters of each word: Ame(rican) S(ign) Lan(guage).
Through the shackling of hands, it conveys the message that denying Deaf people access to signed languages is harmful, represented by the broken fingers.
By portraying that Deaf people are injured by disuse or banning from signed languages, Miller's work expresses some of the most common resistance De'VIA themes like oralism, mainstreaming, and oppression.
Seen here Archived 2019-03-18 at the Wayback Machine, the comparison stems from the Deaf child's inability to communicate with their family due to their lack of access to language.
This juxtaposition shows the iconicity of American Sign Language and subscribes to affirmation De'VIA themes such as ASL, empowerment, and Deaf gain.