ASL IRL: Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Interviewed by Isabel Parkes

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader have had a busy few years. Between a baby and at least one biennial, the respective sound and conceptual artist rely more than ever on their abilities to juggle roles as well as to develop, through their collaborative and distinct practices, languages that enable them to communicate to ever-splintering audiences. We discussed decisions made creatively versus those made to survive; why being a mother might be harder than being a father; and finding new ways to be heard, some of which are funnier than others.

—Isabel Parkes

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, Classified Digits, 2016, color digital video with sound, five minutes, twenty-eight seconds. Courtesy of the artists.

Isabel Parkes

The animation currently on view as part of Readings from Below at Times Art Center in Berlin depicts a group of American Sign Language (ASL) gestures that connote various forms of authority as it moves through signs for words including state, law, and constitution. What was your particular starting point for this work about forms of power

Christine Sun Kim

Particularly since Trump was first elected, I think frequently about my citizenship, roots, and family, which is full of immigrants. The hand here uses an image from my actual US passport, and the specific signs we use are called “initialized signs.” An initialized sign is executed by “stamping” different letters from the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet on an open palm in an up-down motion. Animating a specific gesture while reflecting on my own relationship to being allowed in and out of countries felt like a good way to give form to different loops of decision making.

Thomas Mader

After CK returned from a trip to the US in February and lockdown started, we were informed that the show might only take place online, so animation was also a practical choice. Although as a German passport holder, I’m a pretty privileged traveler, I still have a hard time with US border patrol because of a trip I once took to Iran. I usually ask the guards if they think the next administration might remove Iranian travelers from the persona non grata list. On good days, I get both a laugh and a stamp...READ MORE

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The extra. added by Artbites.

Exploring The Sound Of Silence With Christine Sun Kim | HUMAN.

This episode of HUMAN is presented by the all-new Prius.