Lawrence Abu Hamdan – Zifzafa - A live audio essay

A performance in which sound art, video game technology and spoken word converge. The work explores wind turbines, sound and displacement in the Syrian Golan Heights and asks questions about ecology, control and sonic self-determination. Zifzafa is an Arabic word for a wind that rattles and shakes everything in its path. It is also the title of a new performance by artist and researcher Lawrence Abu Hamdan, in which sound composition, video game engines and spoken word come together. The performance takes place in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, an area with a distinctive microclimate where 30 large wind turbines not only cause ecological damage, but also social displacement through their constant noise. Zifzafa explores how communities that have lived around wind and landscape for thousands of years are today confronted with new forms of extraction and control. The music, composed and performed by Busher Kanj Abu Saleh together with saxophonist Amr Mdah, uses sound as a byproduct of wind energy and as a means of resistance. As a performance, digital instrument and multichannel video installation, Zifzafa advocates for the sonic self-determination of the residents of the Golan Heights.