Lawrence Abu Hamdan

The artist has argued that “the propagation of sound is the most expedient way to consider all forms of border-crossing, be they material, interpersonal, architectural, juridical, disciplinary, biological, sensorial or conceptual." [1]

His artistic practice experiments with ways of creating new aesthetic expressions that reshape politics. His pieces reflect on that which is perceptible and audible, but above all on the context in which these characteristics develop. Abu Hamdan explores the conditions of testimony and the importance of who is listening and who is being listened to—that is, the political possibilities of listening. This liminal space constitutes the stage for his most recent piece: 45th Parallel (2022). Through the history of the Haskell Free Library & Opera House, this video addresses the volatile character of borders, as well as the porosity and fluidity of limits and their contrast with the final and sometimes lethal nature of national borders.

 

Abu Hamdan has labeled his investigations a “political ecology of noise,” analyzing and comprehending the interacting elements that form part of sound. As he suggests, sound exists in relation to a system and it must be heard through this relational condition. We must hear beyond sound. In that space for political listening, sound reveals itself to us and becomes a key witness for confrontation and resistance: “Careful listening is a conceptual and political tool to counter the violent ignorance of isolationism and compartmentalization.” [2]