Marko Vuoriheimo "Signmark"

 

Signmark (a.k.a. Marko Vuoriheimo) was born deaf into a world where music is for the hearing. He pursued his childhood dream and became the first deaf in the world to get a record deal.

Signmark's career in music started with translating Christmas carols to sign language so the whole family could sing together. After watching music videos on MTV, Signmark decided that one day his own videos would be on TV too. He fell for hip-hop and rap music, both because of the beat and the possibility to talk about important issues through the music. His dreams about music business were too much for some of his friends who said that it's the most ridiculous dream a deaf person can have and that music is only for the hearing.

 

Signmark has performed all around the world, in 33 countries so far, for example in Ethiopia, Iceland, Spain, Japan, Brazil and USA. TV documentaries about him has been made about him in Germany, Norway and Hungary among other places.

 

Signmark's unique and original work has not been unnoticed; several contemporary cultural organizations have praised him and e.g. he won The Outstanding Young Person of the World 2009 prize.