The world’s only deaf rap artist Finnish Signmark captivated his Hong Kong audience in three different events recently. Signmark alias Marko Vuoriheimo was invited to MaD (Make a Difference) Forum to tell his life story, how he achieved his childhood dream to become international rap artist in spite of not being able to hear the sounds. Even before the MaD Forum took place Signmark was voted to be the most popular speaker at the forum.
The second event was the Talk at ADA (the Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong) Inclusive Arts Studio where Signmark shared his life story with young people to assure that deafness is no barrier to achieve a dream. Especially the deaf youngsters were impressed of Signmark’s success story.
The third event - Silent Shout – co-presented by ADA and the Consulate General of Finland as part of the Finnish Appetizers program took place at Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza. Silent Shout was performed in collaboration by Finnish and Hong Kong deaf artists. With his energetic and superb body movement and music, and Brandon as his voice, Signmark did the unique collaboration with two local hip-hop groups, deaf dance group U-Know and HKFYG (the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups) Hong Kong Rap Ambassador (HKRM).
Signmark believes society should not treat the deaf as disabled people but as a linguistic minority with their own culture and history. In Silent Shout Signmark brought to Hong Kong the performance with unique and alternative aesthetics that broke all the language barriers. The performance was also conducted in four languages: ASL (American Sign Language), English, Cantonese and local sign language to convey the message to all the audience.
In Silent Shout the audience that in hundreds filled the Piazza in spite of chilly weather was warmed up by Signmark’s cheerful appearance and happy attitude. They could participate in the joint signed shout for a more understanding and accessible tomorrow as music is for everyone. Signmark performed his song Against the Wall twice teaching also the audience in sign language:
“Even if the world comes crashing down
and even if my luck would turn around
I stand tall, proud back against the wall
and even if the hands of time would freeze
you won’t see me begging down on my knees
I stand tall, proud back against the wall.”
