Ishtiaq Hussain is a 51-year-old Visual Vernacular (VV) artist, Relay Interpreter, and founder of Deafscope. Deafscope provides professional BSL/English and relay interpreting services, as well as an accessible media service. Ishtiaq also delivers engaging workshops on British Sign Language (BSL), Visual Vernacular, and Islamic signs.
Ishtiaq Hussain, known in the community as “Ish,” was born hearing but became Deaf at the age of three due to an illness. After completing his mainstream education, Ishtiaq enrolled at Doncaster College for the Deaf ,a life-changing decision that placed him in a fully Deaf environment for the first time. It was here that his BSL (British Sign Language) skills flourished.
Surrounded by Deaf peers and immersed in the richness of the Deaf community, he began to embrace his Deaf identity fully and developed a strong command of BSL. This marked the beginning of his lifelong passion for the language and its cultural significance. In the years that followed, Ishtiaq spent a great deal of time travelling the world, where he met Deaf people from a wide range of backgrounds and was exposed to many different national sign languages.
These experiences broadened his understanding of visual communication and helped him develop a diverse and adaptable signing repertoire. It wasn’t until his peers began to point out his natural and unique ability to convey emotion and information in a purely visual way that he truly considered exploring Visual Vernacular as an art form. Encouraged by their support, Ishtiaq began to pursue VV seriously, setting the stage for his future as a performer and storyteller.