THE WITNESS-MACHINE COMPLEX by Lawrence Abu Hamdan

Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s work The Witness-Machine Complex examines the role of translation—namely interpreters and their technical equipment—during the Nuremberg Trials following World War II.

For this, custom video players were developed to play the original audio recordings while projecting the corresponding translations onto the exhibition space's walls. Two light bulbs are triggered in sync with the witness testimonies, replicating the apparatus used at the time.

The first edition of the installation was exhibited in 2021 at the Kunstverein Nuremberg. In collaboration with the gallery mor charpentier, further editions and developments have since been produced.

Further reading:

• The Witness-Machine Complex, Lawrence Abu Hamdan
• The Witness-Machine Complex, Kunstverein Nuremberg, 2021
• Errata, mor charpentier Paris, 2022