American artist Christine Sun Kim redefines music through the political power of sighs at the Paris Autumn Festival, challenging hearing norms and amplifying the voices of the deaf community.
Paris Autumn Festival invites American artist
The American artist Christine Sun Kim has been invited for the first time to the Paris Autumn Festival, where she is exploring new ways to challenge traditional notions of sound and music."Community Sigh" redefines musical expression
At the Bourse de Commerce, Kim's installation "Community Sigh" transforms a sigh into a political score, questioning the norms of listening and highlighting the power of an engaged sigh as a form of resistance.Inheriting John Cage's legacy
Inspired by the words of John Cage, who believed that everything we do is music, Kim continues his deconstruction of sound by exploring what happens when the voice no longer dictates the rhythm and the breath becomes a form of language.Sonic resistance to hearing norms
In contrast to Barbara Kruger's "The History of Tears," which is an immersive visual installation, Kim's performance uses a sonic experiment composed of sighs and groans to reveal the violence of a society that prioritizes hearing norms.Collective sighs as political expression
Tracked by performers, five loudspeakers mounted on carts broadcast approximately sixty sighs collected from deaf or hard of hearing people, creating a polyphony of exasperation that turns individual sighs into a political statement.Daily ostracization reflected in sound
These exhalations carry the traces of the daily ostracization of the deaf community, highlighting issues like HPA (hearing people anxiety) and DTS (dinner table syndrome), which describe the anxiety and isolation experienced in hearing-dominated environments.Expanding the reflection with new installations
Two other installations at the Autumn Festival extend this reflection: "Forever Behind Now" on the roof of the Galeries Lafayette spatializes time in American sign language, and "L’Esprit de l’escalier" in the subway features blank musical scores to integrate deaf culture into the daily lives of hearing people.Exhibition details and locations
L’Esprit de l’escalier will be on display until December 21 at Gare RER Auber, RATP, and Forever Behind Now will be exhibited until October 30 at Galeries Lafayette Paris-Haussmann.
