Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art
 

Lawrence Abu Hamdan

figure with a microphone in front of a screen showing a building and a tree
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Air Pressure, 2021
Performed at SWG3. Presented by The Common Guild as part of Glasgow International 2024
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Alan Dimmick
A dark photograph with a person dimly lit, they are stood at a desk which is lit by orange and green lights.
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, A Thousand White Plastic Chairs, 2020
Performance at Audio. Presented by The Common Guild as part of Glasgow International 2024
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Alan Dimmick
A dark photograph with a two people dimly lit, they are sitting at two desks lit by orange and green lights.
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, A Thousand White Plastic Chairs, 2020
Performance at Audio. Presented by The Common Guild as part of Glasgow International 2024
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Alan Dimmick
two people stood next to each other behind a desk. One is speaking into a microphone.
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, After SFX, 2018
Performed at The Barrowland Ballroom. Presented by The Common Guild as part of Glasgow International 2024
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Alan Dimmick
A man stands on a stage area. He holds a microphone to his face with his right hand and is looking down at a tablet held in his left hand
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Air Pressure, 2021
documentation of performance at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2023
Courtesy of the artist and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photograph by Maria Baranova

Lawrence Abu Hamdan is a Private Ear, listening to, with and on behalf of people affected by corporate, state, and environmental violence. Abu Hamdan's work has been presented in the form of forensic reports, lectures and live performances, films, publications, and exhibitions all over the world. He received his PhD in 2017 and has held fellowships and professorships at the University of Chicago, the New School, New York and most recently at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Abu Hamdan's audio investigations have been used as evidence at the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and have been a key part of advocacy campaigns for organisations such as Amnesty International, Defence for Children International and Forensic Architecture. His projects that reflect on the political and cultural context of sound and listening have been presented at the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, the 58th Venice Biennale, the 11th Gwangju Biennale, the 13th and 14th Sharjah Biennial, Witte De With, Rotterdam, Tate Modern Tanks, Chisenhale Gallery, Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and the Portikus Frankfurt. For the 2019 Turner Prize, Abu Hamdan, together with nominated artists Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani, formed a temporary collective in order to be jointly awarded the prize.

Projects