The Freedom of Speech Itself, 2012
Mixed-media installation comprising a stereo audio documentary (34 min.) and an acoustic foam sculpture (200 × 220 cm)
The Freedom of Speech Itself is an installation with a narrative audio component examining the history and contemporary application of forensic speech analysis and voiceprints (voice fingerprints), focusing on the UK’s controversial use of voice analysis to determine the origins and authenticity of asylum seekers’ accents. Testimonies from lawyers, phonetic experts, asylum seekers, and Home Office officials reveal a geopolitics of accents and listening practices that have led to shocking stories of wrongful deportations. When combined with the experimental audio composition and appropriated radiophonic techniques, these interviews are designed to question the fundamental ways in which we speak and listen.
The foam sculptural forms of voiceprints illustrate the frequency and amplitude of two different voices saying the word “you.” The cartographic technique of contours used to map and identify the origins of phonemes allows the sculptures to condense Abu Hamdan’s argument into a material form that binds together notions of voice and territory. The acoustically absorbent foam directly intervenes in the audio-space, acoustically shaping the room and commanding a dialogue between the sculptures and the documentary that intensifies the listening experience.
This work was commissioned by The Showroom, London (2012).
