The art and echoes of Christine Sun Kim

14 MINUTES

This artist’s clever work moves Deaf culture from the margins to centre stage

The US artist Christine Sun Kim was born Deaf. Now based in Berlin, she creates art that grapples with the fraught business of communication and her place in a mostly hearing world. This means using language and symbolism in ways that thoughtfully and humorously put her often marginalised experience front and centre. Part of an ongoing series of artist portraits by the nonprofit organisation Art21, this short documentary follows Kim around the globe to explore her confronting yet wry and medium-traversing body of work. This includes a series of black-and-white infographics charting frustrating interactions with non-Deaf people, and an enormous project to caption the buildings, sidewalks and even skies of Manchester in England. Through these bold, political statements, Kim directs attention towards the Deaf community in ways that are impossible to miss.

CREATIVITYARTISTS AND ART HISTORYCOMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

Video by Art21

Director: Chiemi Karasawa

Producer: Nick Ravich

Explore more

A large rock with carvings and natural indentations surrounded by green foliage.
TRADITIONAL ARTS

The lost art of making a petroglyph

Inspired by 6,000-year-old rock art in Norway, I decided to create a new carving closer to home

by Rémy Noë

A cyclist on a yellow bike passing a closed fast food shop with a yellow and maroon facade and a one-way sign.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

A detour home, through Portuguese

Losing my mother tongue was painful and humiliating. Could learning a new language help me heal?

by Frances Nguyen

A group of office workers turned to face a colleague, clapping and smiling, in a modern meeting room setting.
WORK AND VOCATION

Are you saying ‘thank you’ too effusively?

Research suggests that people who express their gratitude more effusively are judged as lower status and less influential

by Christian Jarrett

People in a small, well-lit Japanese restaurant or bar, with a menu on the wall and beverages on the counter.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

A little Japanese trick for saying ‘no’

If an outright refusal feels rude but you don’t want to have to explain, here’s how to say ‘no’ the Japanese way

by Richard Fisher

A man with crossed arms and a serious expression wearing an apron stands in the doorway of a restaurant with checkered curtains and menu on display.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

What to do when someone goes on the defensive

Our natural impulses often make matters worse. Here’s an approach that works, grounded in conflict resolution and psychology

by Adar Cohen & Nick Wignall

Two people at a cafe table, one holding a cigarette. Blurred foreground and background create a candid atmosphere.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

When talking brings you relief, brain syncing may be at work

Something curious happens in two people’s brains during supportive interactions. It could help explain their emotional power

by Yarden Avnor & Simone Shamay-Tsoory

Photo of a waiting room with focus on a black hat. A woman reads papers and another looks at her phone in the background.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

How to chat with almost anyone

It can be awkward at first, but people are more open to conversation than you think – and it could lead to deeper connection

by Michael Yeomans

Black and white photo of a man and woman sitting under an umbrella; the woman leans on the man’s shoulder.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

True contact is found in silence

For Emil Cioran, ‘true contact’ with another is the deep intimacy that emerges through mute togetherness

by Sam Dresser