PRESENTATION: Lawrence Abu Hamdan-Air Conditioning

Lawrence Abu Hamdan, a self-described ‘Private Ear’, develops a unique body of work involving sound and listening. Through his reflective practice, at the intersection of political, legal and social spheres, Abu Hamdan questions the use of sound and its presence in individual and collective memory.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Mudam Archive

“Air Conditioning” (2022) is a monumental work spanning over fifty-four meters that examined has recently entered the Mudam Collection. The project was conceptualized between May 2020 and May 2021, when Abu Hamdan carried out extensive research and information collection as he  the open-source data available on the United Nations Digital Library website. The artist mapped the instances of surveillance and violation of Lebanese airspace by Israeli military aircrafts over a fifteen-year period, from 2007 to 2021, following United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 in the wake of the July War of 2006 between Israel and Lebanon. Each 365 cm-long print represents a year, and each centimeter corresponds to a day. The height and thickness of the plume reflect the number of planes and the duration of their flights, respectively. Each aircraft type is arranged in the image according to the altitude it occupied. Finally, the sonic range of each vehicle – the ominous roar of fighter jets, the dull sound of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) (Hermes 450, IAI Heron TP), and the persistent hum of quadcopter drones – is echoed by the tone and density of the clouds. With “Air Conditioning”, Abu Hamdan captures the effects of a systematic and prolonged exposure to omnipresent noise pollution, and the trauma it can cause, constituting what he calls ‘atmospheric violence’. The resulting images are occupied by a horizon of smoke clouds, without beginning or end, like stills from a film where sound is now absent, as if destined to be forgotten. Two dimensions coexist: erasure and trace. Abu Hamdan invites us to take part in a meditative experience where we must take the time to observe and decipher to immerse ourselves in this fluctuating texture. For the first time this information is made publicly accessible at AirPressure.info. This website has aggregated, transcribed and developed a comprehensive, searchable, and interactive database to make the Israeli illegal aerial invasions of Lebanon visible in their totality.

Photo: Abu Lawrence Hamdan, Air Conditioning (detail), 2022, Full colour inkjet print on Archival paper mounted on aluminium, 90 cm x 5475 cm, vinyl labels, instructional video 2’ HD colour, © Abu Lawrence Hamdan, Collection Mudam Luxembourg, Acquisition 2023, Courtesy the artist and Mudam Luxembourg

Info: Curator Vanessa Lecomte, Mudam Luxembourg − Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, 3 Park Dräi Eechelen, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, Duration: 29/3-9/6/2024, Days & Hours: Tue & Thu-Sun 10:00-18:00, Wed 10:00-21:00, www.mudam.com/