Cultivating spaces for extraordinary artists

IN - Almost a Score - Arnolfini

International artist Christine Sun Kim was the last, but certainly not least, of the five IN commissions - with a residency at Arnolfini in Bristol. Christine's exhibition was shown between 20th March and 5th May 2015.

Christine Sun Kim is a visual artist who works with concepts around sound and visual language. Deaf from birth, Kim deals with sound as a medium that can be physically expressive, communicative, and experienced viscerally.

Working across conventions of American Sign Language (ASL), Kim investigated the identity of her own voice and her associations of sound as a deaf person. She asked audiences to consider the role that sound and listening have in building an experience of both inner and outer worlds and the way that touch can inform listening and language.

A new collection of her drawings, created for the exhibition at Arnolfini, was on show in Gallery 5.

During her residency in Bristol, Kim created a new film installation work in Arnolfini's intimate Dark Studio exploring the themes of language, sound and silence. This was the first time that the artist had created a film work of this size and in a residency setting.

The residency and exhibition was complimented by a performance lecture with the artist and a specialist panel discussion, focused on the relationships between language, sound and listening, followed by an evening showcase of performative works that were inspired by the themes discussed.