bio
Working at the intersection of performance, visual arts and critical theory, Shirhan’s practice explores the politics of image, sound and speech in relation to power and affect. Working mainly with sound, video, performance and writing, her projects are entangled with found materials and narratives, historic as well as current, often as informed by her family’s history of political migrations. Her latest body of research considers the role of sound (and the voice in particular) in relation to forms of collectivity, dissidence and belonging.
Shirhan holds an MA (Hons.) in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths University in London and was a 2019/2020 Research Fellow at BAK basis voor actuele kunst in Utrecht.
As a resident contributor for Radio Alhara she hosts the monthly music show 'Sound Without Image' and the occasional 'Hour of Liberation', a talkshow with voices from and for Palestine.
PS: Urok Shirhan wrote this bio about herself in the third person and is tired of pretending otherwise ︎