Shadi Habib Allah

Individuals and objects contribute to and corroborate accounts of a significant event, or shift, in material, social, technological, and/or political realities. But before this happens, there is a period of time between the event and its subsequent narratives when a lapse in comprehension exists. Before there is consensus or familiarity with a fundamental change in understanding, the parts must be identified and pieced together. The artists in this exhibition directly intervene in these moments to expand on the devices for measurement and documentation of what has yet to become widely known or accepted. They make potential future documents that reflect a range of subjectivities, human and otherwise. By operating inside the delays, silent pauses, sensory impairments, and omissions, the artists examine the shape and weigh the force of these gaps, not only as absences but also as sources of knowledge.

Shadi Habib Allah (born 1977 in Jerusalem; lives and works in New York City) presents a new work titled Did you see me this time, with your own eyes?, 2018, which consists of cell phones that replicate the mechanics of a system developed by Bedouin smugglers to communicate over 2G cellular networks while maintaining secrecy and privacy. An accompanying video depicts a team of technicians working to assemble phones that tap into the 2G system.