Human Machine Fellowship 2024

Assem Hendawi

*1989 in Alexandria, Egypt

Lives in Alexandria, Egypt

Vita

Assem Hendawi is an artist and researcher who works with videos, computer-based media, and text to explore questions related to planetary computation, critical posthumanities, and how technology constructs subjectivity. Hendawi has a particular interest in the manipulations that accompany late capitalism’s technologies as the site of rewriting narratives, identities, and traditions and the spaces for (im)possibility of constructing future imaginaries.

Residency

Assem Hendawi's work navigates the intricate dynamics between technological advancements and societal constructs, embodying a deep investigation into how technology shapes subjectivity within the late capitalism framework. His films, "Everything Under Heaven" and "SIMIA: Stratagem for Undestining," stand as pivotal explorations of socio-political themes that resonate with contemporary Egypt and the wider world, particularly highlighting the friction between futuristic developments and traditional socio-economic structures. Hendawi's engagement with themes such as the rewriting of narratives, identities, and traditions under the guise of late capitalism's technological evolution offers a critical perspective on constructing future imaginaries amid Egypt's pressing challenges like climate change, urbanization, and sustainable development pursuit.