Artist Christine Sun Kim once said, “Everyone has spoken or spoke on my behalf for me.” But at Whitney, in an exhibition spanning four floors, the sound we perceived in signature images and charcoal symbols that fill the walls. For Kim, the deaf, art is a language. Her charcoal graphics are profound and sometimes humorous, criticizing the gaps and differences she notices between hearing and the deaf world. “The stewardess left a suitcase on the runway because when speaking in English, no one claimed it.” I’m deaf and dumb in the art world. On the surface, King releases frustration – what she calls anger – inspired by honest and sometimes intense experiences.
Kim is evident in Whitney’s investigation, Kim Selby Circle (2011), she placed a paintbrush on the rattling drums to create images on the drum pads – she searched for the visuals of the sound here and elsewhere. However, earlier work was flat compared to newer works around. In her recent drawings, the charts and musical symbols are abundant – not hung in the air, without staff, the concept of sound rather than the symbol of the sound itself. The charcoal she used frequently evokes another layer of touch. Her stain is visible, the movements of hands resonating on paper – the hands she uses to sign.
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Christine Sun Kim is surrounded by a series of languages in his daily life. Her partner, artist Thomas Mader, is German. They speak to their children in common language: English, German and ASL. It can be said that there are multiple letters in American Sign Language. ASL uses not only hands, but also facial expressions—she jokes in the work, because it is difficult to have a partner with a German partner, and his facial expressions are culturally softened. In their collaborative work, Sun and Mader found a common language for vision and sound, and together found new gestures and words in their video work. Even through the screen, even in languages that the listener may not understand, their attempts to translate are felt and heard. In their biggest collaboration attention (2022), two big red hands inflated and deflated on each side of a large rock. One finger hits the stone and the other gently strokes it. Text on the wall shows that in ASL, “a common way to attract others’ attention is to wave your palm downwards in their field of vision.” Gaining attention or getting someone’s attention can also mean raising awareness. As part of the exhibition, Whitney offers an ASL tour, something that the institution and other museums used to be available, but people hope it will become more extensive.
Finally, all Kim Jong Il’s frustration and anger were full of hope. To my surprise, despite all the anger in her paintings, there is still a basic optimism. She is still looking for a common language. exist Lulax’s Hypnosis Point for a Week (2018) is one of the few sound works in the exhibition, and you can listen to her daughter using a few of Kim Jong Il’s friends’ text descriptions. There is a luxurious colorful bench as you listen through your headphones. You hear more than just songs; it’s the artist’s community that comes together to create its own world of sound for Kristen Sun King.
Christine Sun Kim’s “All day and night“Until July 6, 2025, on display at Whitney.
