Sleep

Sleep
Sound installation by Hamada Elkept 

Under the weight of the genocide in Gaza, sleep has become a stolen respite for bodies living under constant psychological pressure and fear, beneath fragile tents struggling to withstand shelling and artillery fire. By keeping the sounds of explosions present around the clock, the colonisers deliberately keep people in a state of perpetual terror and anticipation, seeking to shatter their sense of safety and turn the land to which they belong into a place where life becomes unbearable.

With Sleep, Hamada Elkept attempts to convey to an Europen audience what it means for people to sleep during the genocide, after losing their homes, their beds, and the moments of safety that once allowed them to close their eyes without fear.

In our daily lives, we rarely think about where, how, or when we will sleep. For us, sleep is something we take for granted. Yet this installation, through its stories, reveals a profound human divide and speaks of privilege and inequality.

Sleep invites us to listen to a reality in which the night has become another spectre haunting human life, and the act of sleeping itself has turned into a daily struggle to reclaim a moment of rest amid constant fear.

Content warning: this sound installation features testimonies from people living under occupation in Gaza. It addresses genocide, war, forced displacement and bombardment. It also includes sounds of explosions.

Agenda
9/12
19:00 – Artist talk with artist Hamada Elkept
The sound installation is open to visitors throughout the evening until 23:00.

11/12
19:00–23:00 – Sound installation open to visitors throughout the evening.

12/12
19:00–20:00 – Sound installation open to visitors, before the performance.

Want to know more about the artist?
Hamada Elkept (Alqabat) is a Palestinian visual artist from Gaza, currently based in Brussels.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Al-Aqsa University in Gaza. His artistic practice spans painting, installation and sound. He explores themes such as surveillance, forced displacement, memory and the human experience of war.

He has worked as an art educator with the Tamer Foundation in Palestine. His work has been presented at museums and cultural institutions in Belgium and internationally, including GUM Ghent, CENTRALE for Contemporary Art in Brussels, Palais de Tokyo in Paris and the Open Art Biennale in Sweden.

@hamadaelkept