Abu Hamdan, Lawrence
Lawrence Abu Hamdan is an artist whose audio investigations expose and attempt to define the politics of listening. Refusing to admit a distinction between aesthetics and politics, Abu Hamdan has produced work in the form of advocacy and legal testimonies, as well as performances in galleries and theatres. His film The All-Hearing (2014) is concerned with noise pollution and freedom of speech in Cario, a city where average noise levels sit at a deafening 85 decibels. It addresses the ways in which new laws in the city, ostensibly brought in to curb noise pollution, have ‘[enforced] Sheikhs to only give speeches according to the weekly government-sanctioned topic’. Following an invitation from Abu Hamdan, two Sheikhs defiantly deliver sermons on a non-sanctioned topic, ‘the ethics of the sonic environment of the city.’
- Artwork Details: running time: 13 minutes
- Edition: 1 of 2 APs
- Material description: HD Video
- Credit line: © the artist
- Theme:
- Medium: Film and Audio Visual
- Accession number: ACC11/2015