projects - Sharjah Art Foundation

Hajra Waheed’s multidisciplinary practice explores issues including the relationship between surveillance and the networks of power that structure human lives, while also addressing the alienation of displaced subjects affected by legacies of colonial and state violence.

Hum II (2023)

Hajra Waheed
Hum II
2023
Multichannel sound installation
Dimensions variable, 30 minutes 51 seconds Credits: Harjra Waheed (artistic director), Tiffany Lê (project manager), Pietro Amato (technical director of music and mixing engineer), Laurel Sprengelmeyer (musical arrangement), Michael Feuerstack (sound engineer), David Adjaye (architectural advisor), Beatrice Deer and Sylvia Cloutier (throat singing) and Carey Dodge, Parker Schper and Dan Freder (sound consultants); special thanks to all the hummers who remain anonymous and live amongst us Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation and supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa
Courtesy of the artist

Overview

Hajra Waheed’s multidisciplinary practice explores issues including the relationship between surveillance and the networks of power that structure human lives, while also addressing the alienation of displaced subjects affected by legacies of colonial and state violence. Housed within a uniquely built conical sound chamber and composed entirely of voice, the multichannel sound installation Hum II (2023) explores humming and other vocal practices as a means to consider radical forms of collective and sonic agency.
The work amplifies seven songs that have been central to popular uprisings, mass social movements and anti-colonial struggles across the Americas, Africa and Asia, where women have been at the forefront.