Deaf artist and activist Christine Sun Kim explores the politics of language and communication through her paintings, drawings, installations, videos, and performances. One of her best-known series is a group of meme-inspired, infographic-style “Deaf Rage” drawings, which consider the frustrations of the deaf experience. These pieces, which featured in the 2019 Whitney Biennial, exemplify the humor, poignancy, and advocacy that pervades much of the artist’s practice.

 

For other works, Kim has invited deaf friends to rewrite films and “painted” canvases by placing them on top of subwoofers along with ink-laden brushes. Kim has staged exhibitions, installations, workshops, and performances at Tate Modern, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. She performed the U.S. national anthem in American Sign Language at the 2020 Super Bowl. Her work belongs in the collections of the Whitney, the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among other institutions.