PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO
Hala Amer
Interdisciplinary Designer + Maker
alzawaydehha@gmail.com
hi! I’m Hala, I live in the intersection between technology, design, and making, creating space for experimentation to outweigh a final result. A lot of my work starts with a curiosity, an interest, which then develops into an experiment/exploration. Some of my recent interests include: digital fabrication, skin electronics, biomaterials, and e-textiles. My research examines how materials, techniques, and interactions, especially in digital fabrication, reshape contemporary practice by foregrounding process, prototyping, and emerging technologies.
I hold postgraduate certificates in FabAcademy and Fabricademy (FabLab Barcelona; accredited by the University of Lleida—EHEA), a Masters in Design for Emergent Futures (IAAC / FabLab Barcelona / Elisava), and a BFA in Interior Design (Cum Laude) from VCUarts Qatar.
RE-HUMANIZING SENSINGFabricademy, Textile Academy, IAAC, Barcelona, Spain. (Solo Exhibition). 2023
An interpretation of facial features and emotions through a performance by a pre-trained AI model with bio-bots using the visitors as the trigger. The AI model translates the emotions and expressions from one community to another through the biobots, soft robotics, for the purpose of celebrating the similarities and differences of said communities. Under the umbrella of decolonizing design, the research for this project also looks at the biases of emotion recognition and expression research and training. It is called Re-Humanizing Sensing because we, collectively as humans, are at a point where we are constantly bombarded with information at a quick pace causing us to interact with it passively. We have grown to be de-sensitized to the information we see about 'the other' but partially notice. This project aims to bring back the senses to the human who is designed to sense so naturally but has forgotten to do so.
Street ScannerDesign Art Tokyo. Januka. Tokyo, Japan. (Solo Exhibition). 18 - 27 October 2024.
Saga Elkabbash
Levi Hammett
Giovanni Innella
Martin Juras
Hind Al Saad
The omnipresence of machine vision in our daily lives is subtly reshaping how we perceive the world. Cameras, sensors, and algorithms now weave a complex digital web, translating our reality into a series of virtual constructs. Street Scanner, a new interactive installation hosted by the jewelry brand Januka in central Tokyo, invites passersby to engage with and explore the captivating and, at times, unsettling aesthetics generated by machine vision. Utilizing readily available hardware and software, the artwork challenges visitors to critically reflect on the pervasive influence of digital perception in shaping our understanding of the world.
Created by Hala Amer, Saga Elkabbash, Levi Hammet, Giovanni Innella, and Martin Basalan Juras, Street Scanner is part of the prestigious Tokyo Designart Festival. Positioned prominently on Januka’s storefront, it allows the public to interact with the machine-driven visuals, engaging them directly in a conversation about the pervasive nature of machine vision. This immersive experience brings the invisible gaze of technology into public view, encouraging a deeper examination of its impact on daily life.
Shot & edited by Levi Hammett
Future MemoriesWatering the Desert. YUZ Museum, Shanghai, China. (Group Exhibition, International). 8 November 2023 - 3 March 2024.
Deconstructed Meanings. Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art. (Solo Exhibition, National). 26 October 2023 - March 2024.
Language as Machine. The Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, Doha, Qatar (Commissioned, Solo Exhibition, Local). 12 February - 8 April 2023.
The installation uses sand as a recording medium and a metal sphere as a writing tool, offering a completely unique writing experience that allows users to leave their ephemeral messages in the sand. The end result is an interactive installation that perfectly captures the fleeting nature of memories. In addition to its unique writing capabilities, the ‘Future Memories’ installation also incorporates a predictive element, with the machine programmed to write ten future predictions based on statistics and facts about Qatar. After each prediction is written, a pattern is formed in the sand that ultimately erases the previous sentence.
Breaths of a dialogThe Limits of my Language are the Limits of my World. Media Majlis, Northwestern University in Qatar. (Group Exhibition, National). 8 September 2024 - 5 December 2024.
Breaths of a dialog is an inflatable installation that encapsulates the theme of linguistic evolution and its relationship to cultural exchange. Highlighting the etymological transition of the word برتقال”/orange”, from bitter “nāranj” to sweet “burtuqāl”, its visual narrative mirrors the historical journey of oranges from East to West and back again. The work symbolises a rich tapestry of cultural and historical connections forged through language and trade.
