Lawrence Abu Hamdan

Lawrence Abu Hamdan (born 1985) is a Lebanese-British artist and investigator whose practice examines sound as a form of evidence and a means of understanding political, social, and environmental conditions. Known as the “Private Ear,” he works across forensic reports, film, video, installation, performance, lectures, and publications, developing investigations into the political and cultural implications of listening. His research has been used as evidence at the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and in a formal request to the International Criminal Court, as well as in advocacy campaigns involving organisations including Amnesty International, Defence for Children International, Human Rights Watch, and Forensic Architecture. Abu Hamdan’s practice is grounded in what he describes as forensic listening: the investigation of acoustic events and the information that can be extracted from sound. His projects examine how voices, noises, recordings, and acoustic traces can function as testimony, particularly in situations where visual evidence is unavailable or insufficient. Works such as *Walled Unwalled* (2018) consider the relationship between sound, architecture, borders, privacy, and legal testimony, while *Rubber Coated Steel* (2016) examines the use of acoustic evidence in relation to the killing of two Palestinian teenagers. His work frequently moves between artistic presentation and forms of investigation, challenging conventional distinctions between art, research, and evidence. Abu Hamdan holds a doctorate from Goldsmiths, University of London, focused on the role of sound in legal investigations. He has held fellowships and guest professorships at the University of Chicago, the New School in New York, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. His research into sound and acoustic events has developed alongside a wider interest in the political conditions of listening. In 2023, he founded Earshot, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the study of audio for human rights and environmental advocacy. His work has been presented internationally at major exhibitions and institutions, including MoMA in New York, Tate Modern, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, the 58th Venice Biennale, the 11th Gwangju Biennale, the 13th and 14th Sharjah Biennials, the 34th São Paulo Biennial, and Witte de With in Rotterdam. In 2023, MoMA presented *Walled Unwalled and Other Monologues*, an exhibition and performance programme bringing together *Walled Unwalled* with *After SFX*, *Natq*, and *Air Pressure*. His works are held in collections including MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum, the Van Abbemuseum, Centre Pompidou, Hamburger Bahnhof, Museo Reina Sofía, and Tate Modern. Abu Hamdan has received numerous international distinctions, including the Nam June Paik Award for New Media in 2016, the Tiger Short Film Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2017 for *Rubber Coated Steel*, the Edvard Munch Art Award in 2019, and the Toronto Biennial Audience Award in 2020. In 2019, he was jointly awarded the Turner Prize with Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo, and Tai Shani, who formed a temporary collective in response to the nomination. Across his artistic and investigative practice, Abu Hamdan continues to explore the evidentiary, political, and human dimensions of sound and the ways listening can reveal histories and events that remain otherwise unheard.