Digital Guides 1880 THAT: Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader Digital Guides

1880 THAT: Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Exhibition text

‘1880 THAT’ is an exhibition by the artists Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader. In their artworks they use humour and wordplay to explore sign language’s relationship to spoken language, and to draw attention to historic decision-making that still influences how we communicate today.

Digital guide

Please speak to a member of staff if you need help.

The guide contains a tour of the exhibition available in audio description (AD) and British Sign Language (BSL).

The guide has 11 stops, each around three minutes long.

Use your phone to scan the QR code, and follow the track numbers.

QR codes also provide access to all exhibition texts in screen-readable formats.

You can use our WiFi for free. Turn your device's WiFi on and select 'Wellcome Guest'. The first time you connect you will be asked to enter your email address. Then select 'Connect' to accept our terms and conditions.

AD can also be accessed using the touch-button players.

Definitions

These definitions provide wider context for some of the terminology used in '1880 THAT' and the programme that accompanies it.

Sign language

Sign languages use hands, facial expressions, mouth and body movements to communicate. There are over 300 different sign languages globally. They each have their own vocabulary and grammar and are distinct from written languages. There are regional dialects and signs that are unique to individuals and families.

Oral education or system

These were systems designed to teach Deaf people to communicate through lip-reading and speech, rather than sign language. Oral education grew in popularity in the late 19th century.

ASL

The abbreviation for American Sign Language.

BSL

The abbreviation for British Sign Language.

THAT

In the context of the exhibition title, 'THAT' is an ASL term that adds emphasis to a statement. It can mean different things, such as: "That's what I mean!", "That's why", or "Enough said". It is used in the title of the exhibition to add significance to the date 1880 and to highlight the impact of the Milan Conference on Deaf communities.

The Milan Conference

This is the abbreviated name for the Second International Congress for Education of the Deaf, which took place in 1880 in Milan, Italy. The participants debated whether oral education should replace sign-language education for Deaf people. 164 people attended the conference from different countries, including the UK, USA and France, but only one participant was deaf. Although there were attendees who argued in favour of sign language, the majority voted in favour of oral education. The aftermath of the conference saw the systemic suppression of sign language.

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

The inventor, who is credited with patenting the first telephone was a leading voice opposing the teaching of sign language at the time of the conference. He advocated for a system called Visible Speech - created by his father, Alexander Melville Bell - that attempted to teach Deaf people to communicate with their voices. Both men were married to deaf women. Some of Bell's ideas were connected to eugenics - a prejudiced and incorrect theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding of populations.

Deaf and deaf

Deaf people have preferences about whether they use 'D' or 'd' to describe themselves. Both 'deaf' and 'Deaf' are used here depending on individual preference.

Deaf culture

This is a term used to describe Deaf people who identify as a linguistic minority and who use sign language as their main form of communication. They also share life experiences, beliefs, attitudes, history and other cultural traditions.

Introduction

'1880 THAT' brings together new and recent works by Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader that explore the idea of language as a home – an essential place of belonging – and what it means to live with the threat of losing one's language.

The Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf was held in Milan in 1880. Although the conference attendees were predominantly hearing people, it was declared that oral education should replace sign language in Deaf schools.

The inventor Alexander Graham Bell was also a prominent supporter of oralism. In the years following the conference, sign language was sidelined and suppressed, resulting in exclusion and stigma for Deaf people around the world.

Kim and Mader's playful artworks use humour to draw attention to the conference on Deaf education and identity. Through film and sculpture, '1880 THAT' addresses the fundamental right to communicate, and explores new possibilities for understanding between signed and spoken languages.

1880 THAT

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Fired clay, 2025

Courtesy of the artists.

There is no plaque on the building where the Milan Conference took place. Kim and Mader created these commemorative bricks to contest the erasure of this pivotal moment in Deaf history. The bricks are stamped with '1880' on one side and 'THAT' on the other. The choice of typeface, a modern reinterpretation of a design from the early 19th century, conveys the idea that while this event happened in the past, it still affects the present. Brick manufacturing was crucial to urban expansion in the Victorian era, at the time that the conference took place. Through this work the artists make a connection between bricks as the building blocks of cities and of language.

ATTENTION

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Nylon, fans, electronics, 2022

Courtesy of the artists.

This moving sculpture explores the ways in which attention can be directed and received by Deaf and hearing people. In American Sign Language (ASL), one of the most common ways to attract attention is by waving downwards with one hand and tapping in a person's field of vision, while another way is to point. The giant inflatable red arm at this end of the gallery waves towards the Houses of Parliament for the attention of policymakers in government.

The erosion on the wall symbolises the ongoing need to advocate for Deaf rights and inclusion. When the arm is deflated, it represents the exhaustion of needing to do this.

F on Eye

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Digital animation, no audio, 3 minutes and 12 seconds, 2025

Courtesy of the artists.

In the ASL sign for 'F', the fingers form a peephole. The animation is filmed from the perspective of a person gripped by fear, peering through a peephole in a door from inside an apartment. In the hallway, an ominous nose approaches the door at varying speeds. Like a horror-movie soundtrack, subtitles convey the growing tension, creating an atmosphere of suspense and unease. The nose symbolises decision-makers such as Alexander Graham Bell, who tried to suppress sign language. 'F on Eye' is about vulnerability and the concept of language as your home. It asks us to consider what it feels like when this safe space – one's native language – is under attack.

Look Up My Nose

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Fibreglass, drum skin, automated drumstick, 2025

Courtesy of the artists.

The inventor Alexander Graham Bell was a strong advocate for lip-reading and a system called Visible Speech, created by his father, which sought to teach Deaf people to communicate with their voices. The shape of this sculpture has been modelled from photographs of both men's noses. The work plays with the English saying to "look down your nose", meaning to feel superior, and refers to the Bells' disdain for sign language users. The nose also plays an important role in sign language, conveying grammar, vocabulary and nuanced expression. The sculpture was designed with an audio engineer and drum-maker. An automated drumstick creates a strong bass frequency while simultaneously pushing air out through the nostrils of the bell. It plays a series of four beats to represent '1,8,8,0' and 'T,H,A,T'. Stand underneath it to hear and feel the vibrations.

Running Gag

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Pencil and coloured pencil on paper, 2024

Courtesy of the artists.

Pick up headphones from the wall for scene-by-scene audio description for this artwork.

The rows of noses at the bottom of this drawing represent the participants who attended the Milan Conference. All the noses apart from one are drawn with a condescending snort, highlighting the disdain that most attendees had towards sign language. One nose at the bottom right of the drawing represents the only Deaf person who attended the conference, an American teacher called James Denison. As the noses progress towards the top of the drawing, they change to shades of green. They symbolise the followers of the oral system who long after the conference continued to supress sign language education. The artists chose this colour as it is often used in hospitals, alluding to the medical perspective on deafness, which considers it as something that needs to be cured.

What's Left

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Digital film, no audio, 20 minutes 08 seconds, 2025

Courtesy of the artists.

There is scene-by-scene audio description for this artwork. Please pick up headphones next to the work.

In this new film, Kim and Mader reimagine the 'Sesame Street' character Lefty the Salesman, who was known for selling letters of the alphabet in a suspicious way to the character Ernie. Here Lefty tries to sell Ernie a series of items, including an invisible ice-cream cone, some air, a notebook, an empty box and a melting snowman. The film refers to the absurdity of language being judged as illegal, and how sign-language communities were forced underground. Launched in 1969, 'Sesame Street' was the first mainstream children's TV show to incorporate sign language, and brought it to millions of homes worldwide. Linda Bove, a Deaf actress and one of the original cast members of 'Sesame Street', appears in a celebrity cameo introducing each episode of the film.

ATTENTION

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Nylon, fans, electronics, 2022

Courtesy of the artists.

This oversized inflatable arm represents another way of attracting attention in American Sign Language. The finger points in the direction of Milan, literally drawing attention to the significance of the Milan Conference within Deaf history. The pointing has created an erosion on the wall as the sculpture inflates and deflates in an ongoing cycle. This represents the endurance required to repeatedly advocate for recognition and inclusion for sign language communities, and the resulting exhaustion.

NOT CROSS

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Plywood, plaster, paint, 2025

Courtesy of the artists.

This large-scale wall work spells out "I AM NOT CROSS" in brick lettering. It refers to the misunderstanding that can happen between spoken and signed languages, as well as the differences in body language and the written word. People can make a statement such as "I am not cross", but their body language can convey the opposite, saying one thing when they mean another. Facial expressions and their intensity are a key grammatical factor in sign language, and radically change the meaning of what is being expressed. This often eludes sign-language learners and interpreters, leading to frustration for Deaf people, making them feel like they are talking to the proverbial "brick wall".

Eye Spy

Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader

Digital animation, no audio, 2 minutes and 19 seconds, 2025

Courtesy of the artists.

In this short animation, an American Sign Language expression, "If only you could see things through my eyes", is visualised by two transparent avatars. These characters pass a set of eyeballs back and forth between them endlessly. This sequence resonates with the overarching theme of the exhibition: if the decision-makers at the Milan Conference could have seen through the eyes of Deaf people, they might have come to a different conclusion.

Tours and Events

Deaf-led BSL tour

15 May 18:30-19:30

Join Damaris Cooke for a tour of the 1880 THAT exhibition.

BSL interpreted tours

14 June 11:30-12:30

13 July 14:30-15:30

07 August 19:00-20:00

06 September 14:30-15:30

05 October 11:30-12:30

06 November 19:00-20:00

Audio described tours

26 June 19:00-20:00

23 August 11:30-12:30

21 September 14:30-5:30

13 November 19:00-20:00

Relaxed openings

15 June 10:00-12:00

If you need additional support to enjoy this exhibition join us for this relaxed opening. There will be fewer people and extra staff to help you. We will provide a visual story in advance. There will also be sensory equipment and a chill-out room available.

Visit wellcomecollection.org/whats-on for more details and to book a tour.

Finger Talk

8 July - 17 October 2025, The Forum

‘Finger Talk’ is a British Sign Language immersive audiovisual installation by artist and curator Cathy Mager.

The piece explores the shared heritage and cultural identity of the British deaf community. The artwork uses audiograms (graphs that show the results of hearing tests), which have been donated by deaf people as the starting point, and reimagines them through animation. This imagery is interwoven with contemporary sign language performance, historic films and illustrations from archives such as the British Deaf Association and Wellcome Collection. A soundscape composed with deaf and disabled musicians accompanies the installation.

‘Finger Talk’ seeks to create a portal into a deaf world and change the narrative from one of 'hearing loss' to 'deaf gain'.

A deaf-led series of performances, workshops and tours, co-curated by Cathy Mager accompanies ‘Finger Talk’.

Please visit wellcomecollection.org/whats-on for more details.

Acknowledgements

Curator: Laurie Britton Newell

Project Managers: Matt Nightingale and Georgia Monk

Registrar: David Chan

Technical Manager: Chris Kingham

Audiovisual Production: Ricardo Barbosa, Wellcome's Multimedia and Audiovisual Production team

Photography Production: Petra Essing, Alice Evans, Ben Gilbert, Steven Pocock

Digital Guide: Lalita Kaplish, Wellcome Collection Digital Editorial team

Curatorial Consultant: Cathy Mager

Exhibition Design: Natalie Savva at Studio Naama

Graphic Design: Sara De Bandt and Luke Gould

Lighting Design: Satu Streatfield Ltd

Build Contractor: EXIB Ltd

Art Fabrication: MDM Props Ltd

BSL Guide: Damaris Cooke, Samuel Dore, Alexandra Shaw

Audio Guide: VocalEyes

Access Interpretation Producer: Ruth Garde

Graphics Production: Displayways

Wellcome Collection would like to thank Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader and their galleries WHITE SPACE and François Ghebaly.

We are also grateful to the following individuals whose contributions have been integral to the realisation of the exhibition: Helsa Borninstein, Linda Bove, David Faulwasser, Marcel Hirshman, Richard Kindell, Chris Laing, Ruth Lie, Kate McAuliff, Lynn Stewart-Taylor, Gan Uyeda.