The Diary of a Sky

As a large part of the world is brought to a standstill by the pandemic and an unprecedented silence takes hold, artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan (winner of the prestigious Turner Prize in 2019) sets out to document the noise level in Beirut, which has dramatically increased. The roar of generators, working hard to make up for the lack of electricity – a reflection of the complete indifference of the Lebanese state – is mingled with the dull roar of Israeli army drones and fighter planes flying over the country relentlessly, and which the artist inventories using data collected from the United Nations digital library, in a website of his own creation. Thanks to its particularly astute and eloquent narration and editing, The Diary of a Sky offers an ironic yet serious examination of the militarisation of airspace and its use as a training ground, whose scope broadens to include global politics, ecology, the unbridled investment of nations in military aviation, as well as conspiracy theories and the disinformation rife on social media.
Emilie Bujès

The Diary of a Sky, 2024
45th Parallel, 2022
Once Removed, 2019
Walled Unwalled, 2018
Rubber Coated Steel, 2016