UNTIL 9 DECEMBER 2018

Much of Beirut-based artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s
work focuses on issues in
Arab countries. His work Earwitness Theater, a multi- media installation now at the Chisenhale Gallery, presents
a chilling account of the experiences of prisoners at the notorious Saydnaya prison in Syria. It is estimated that as many as 13,000 people have been executed in Saydnaya since 2011.

The capacity for detainees to see anything in Saydnaya is highly restricted as they are mostly kept in darkness, blindfolded or made to cover their eyes. As a result, prisoners develop an acute sensitivity to sound.

Abu Hamdan recorded the memories of former Saydnaya prisoners in collaboration with Amnesty International and with Forensic Architecture, a research group based at Goldsmiths, University of London, where Abu Hamdan got his Ph.D.chisenhale.org.uk