Barbican announces Repercussions: a Landmark Cross-Arts takeover led by Turner Prize Winner Lawrence Abu Hamdan

Marking the first artist-led cross-arts takeover of its kind at the Barbican, the project will transform the Centre’s venues into a dynamic, interdisciplinary platform exploring the urgent and evolving concept of sonic rights.

Spanning four days, Repercussions brings together an installation, performance installation, performances, screenings and live music to examine the wide-ranging impact of sound, from the pernicious damage of noise pollution to the power of silence as a means of political resistance. Through newly commissioned work, live events and participatory activity, audiences are invited to consider the many facets and perspectives of sonic self-determination in today’s world.

Abu Hamdan, internationally recognised for his pioneering work at the intersection of sound, advocacy and human rights, will lead the programme alongside his not-for-profit organisation Earshot, founded in 2023. Often describing himself as a “Private Ear,” Abu Hamdan employs audio analysis, aural testimony, and in-depth research to identify and investigate various crimes and human rights abuses, publishing his findings with Earshot for use by major news organisations, NGOs, and grass-roots community groups. He then uses installation, video, and live performance to reflect and meditate on the wider political, social and cultural implications of his investigations. Together, his work has fundamentally reshaped how audio evidence is mined and understood, within the realms of art, law, and global human rights discourse. With Repercussions, he brings this investigative approach into a collective, public setting – reshaping the Barbican into a site for listening, reflection and shared inquiry.

At a moment of environmental crises, political unrest, contested facts and legal impunity, Repercussions aims to be a catalyst for conversation by bringing together collaborators from across the fields of art, music, and activism. Drawing on Earshot’s recent investigations, audiences will be asked to lend their ears to a range of sonic experiences, from the reverberating echo of a gunshot and the buzz of community life in the Syrian Golan Heights to the force of silent protest in Belgrade.

Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Artist and Organiser of Repercussions, says: “It is a tremendous honour to be trusted with the Barbican’s first ever, cross-arts building-wide takeover. It seems fitting that a practice routed in sonics should be the first to bleed through the walls of theatre, cinema and visual art. This is an opportunity not only to platform the work I do but showcase the entire village of practitioners that inspire and bring the work into being. The pace at which Earshot has moved from incident to incident, crime to crime, in just 3 years has become dizzying, and this is a moment to collectively reflect on what has been and can be achieved. As the old order of international laws and cooperation becomes undermined and impunity increasingly tolerated, there arises a clear mandate to experiment with alternative forums, where new kinds of hearings can be practiced. This programme is an attempt to do just that.” 

Bringing together diverse artistic and investigative practices, Repercussions acts as a catalyst for dialogue around the complex topic of sonic self-determination, with each component attempting to tune into and consider multiple claims regarding the political agency of sound. Through its development and realisation, the programme will contribute to the evolution of Earshot’s inaugural international protocols for sonic rights, positioning the Barbican as a platform for art that engages with the most pressing issues of our time. 

Lawrence Abu Hamdan (Amman, Jordan, 1985) has been exploring the role of sound and voice within the fields of law and human rights for over a decade. In 2019, he won the Turner Prize for his 2018 exhibition Earwitness Theatre at Chisenhale Gallery.

Abu Hamdan is a multidisciplinary artist whose experimental practice defies conventional classification. Describing himself as a “Private Ear,” Abu Hamdan uses sound analysis and aural testimony to investigate human rights abuses and bring awareness to the urgent, yet under-researched, issues of our time. Crucially, he transforms these investigations into multi-media installations or “live audio essays,” which deftly merge various art forms to engage audiences in timely and nuanced conversations.

In 2023, he founded Earshot, the world’s first not-for-profit organisation producing audio investigations for human rights and environmental advocacy. Investigating "crimes that lie beyond the camera’s frame," they aim to amplify collaborative efforts within an ecosystem of grassroot movements, local activists, international human rights organisations, media outlets, and investigative journalists, seeking justice for communities affected by corporate, state, and environmental violence. His work with Earshot regularly furnishes organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, The Washington Post, Sky News, Al Jazeera and many others with the information they need to produce the most accurate reporting possible.

Main Image: Courtesy Kristina Sergeeva